My Friend, My Enemy, My Acquaintance, Mr America
by nicetwin123
Summary: America has had a number of people come into his life, for the better or worse, but mostly for the better. Join America as he interacts with the different nations of the world, forming friendships, rivalry's, and new acquaintances.
1. My Little Brother

**_A/N: Hello, Hello! Welcome to my next big story. My other story, "Strange things about America", while my longest running story, is starting to prevent me from doing other projects that I would like to work on. I won't be ending that series anytime soon, but I did want to do more. I found I liked writing about the interactions between America and the other nations, and wanted to write story's where I could explore that more without a fun fact about America being written into the story. I just want to write story's, so I will. Welcome to my new short story series, "My friend, My enemy, My Acquaintance, Mr. America!" Enjoy!_**

Little America hummed as he hurriedly threw on his coat. England had finally got a day off, and promised that he and America would get to spend the whole day together. Because this didn't happen very often, as England usually was overseas or always working, America was very excited. Running out of his room, he ran to the kitchen, where England was making a picnic basket full of sandwiches, fruit, and other small snacks for their ride into the country. Bouncing over to England, America hugged England's leg and gave the man a large toothy grin.

"England, is the picnic basket ready yet?" America asked as he excitedly tugged on the older man's pants.

"Almost poppet." England said with a smile, ruffling his hair. "Just need to pack the drinks then we can go."

"Alright!" America said happily. Just then, James, the old head butler*, walked into the room. Looking down at America, he was amused to see that America had put his coat buttons in all wrong, making the coat uneven.

"Alfred, your coat is not buttoned correctly." James chuckled as he crouched down and started to fix America's coat.

"What wrong with my coat? I think it looks fine." America laughed.

"Indeed." James said with an amused face. Finishing fixing the buttons, James stood back up and nodded to the basket of food on the counter. "Is the basket ready to be loaded into the carriage?" He asked England.

"Yes, I just finished." England said, handing the basket over. "Come on then America, it's time to get going."

"Finally!" America cried. Sprinting out the door, England yelled after him, "Don't run in the house!"

"He's very excited about this." James said as he and England followed America. "It's all he's talked about all week."

"Is that so?" England said with a small smile. While he loved spending time with America, he never seemed to spend time with him. In fact, he was a little surprised how fast America seemed to be growing. It just made him want to be around the young colony more. So, he really did treasure all the time he got with him.

"He really loves spending time with you." James said as they walked out of the house, and to the carriage that was waiting outside the door. "He's always asking me when you're coming over."

"Come on, you're both so slow." America whined as he opened the carriage door.

"Unlike you Alfred, I'm not a young boy anymore." James chuckled as he lifted America into the carriage. "You'll have to forgive these old bones, they aren't as fast as they used to be. As for Mr. England's lack of speed," James whispered to America, "he has no excuse."

As America burst out laughing, England raised an eyebrow at the two. "I heard that you know." He said to James. James just gave England a cheeky grin. "I wasn't meaning to hide what I said."

"Always the jokester." England said with rolling his eyes, but smirking at the comment. As James put the basket next to America, England climbed in the carriage, closing the door behind him. James then got into the front, took the reins of the horses, and they were off.

"So where are we going?" America asked excitedly as he bounced up and down.

"America, sit still." England scolded.

"Sorry." America said as he stilled himself.

"As for where we're going, I was thinking about going to the field that I found you in." England said with a smile. "There is a nice spot where wildflowers grow that would be a perfect place for a picnic."

"Do you know a lot about flowers?" America asked, looking curious.

"I know about a few of the different ones around here." England said nodding. If you want, I could teach you the names of them if you want.

"Really? That'd be so cool!" America said happily.

"Why are you so enthusiastic about flowers all of a sudden?" England asked curiously.

"Me and Davie found a book about flowers the other day, and I was wondering if I could find any of the ones that I read about there." America said happily.

"Ah, I see." England said with a smile. "Well, I see you're becoming quite the botanist."

"What's a botanist?" America asked confused.

"A botanist is someone who studies plants." England replied.

"You can study plants for a living?" America asked in awe.

England laughed at Americas response. "Well, yes you can. A botanist was most likely responsible for writing that book you and your friend read."

"Wow!" America said as he thought about it. "I want to study plants too!" America stated suddenly.

"If you work and study hard, I'm sure you could." England said ruffling America's hair.

"Oh, I can see the field!" America said happily as he suddenly looked out the window.

"Ah, we should start gathering up our things then. It's a bit of a walk to the wild flower patch." England said as he started to pick up the basket. As they came to a stop, America eagerly opened the carriage door, and hopped out. He then started running towards the long grass, when James caught him by the arm.

"Slow down Alfred, we don't want to lose you in the grass." James said sternly. "You're so short we'd lose you in the field."

"I'm not short!" Alfred huffed. "England said I was tall for my age."

"While that may be true, that does not mean you can run off." James said gently. "How about you help Mr. England carry the basket, that way you can get going quicker?"

"Ok." America said. Running over to England, he grabbed the basket from England's hands, and held it over his head.

"Why are you holding it like that?" England asked in confusion.

"So when I walk in the grass, you can find me!" America said like it was the most obvious thing ever.

"I see." England said. "In that case, I'll carry the blanket and the drinks."

"Have a good time you two. I shall pick you up in a few hours." James said, climbing back onto the carriage. "If you need me Mr. England, I shall be in town attending to a few errands." With that, James took the reins, and went off on his way.

"Come on America, let's get going." England said as he walked to the field, America following behind him. If anyone where to look at England and America as they walked through the field, they would have had to do a double take, because America was so short, that only the basket was visible over the grass, making the basket look as though it were floating behind England. After about ten minutes of walking, the grass suddenly fell away to a small clearing, surrounded by thousands of flowers. There were a large number of different colored and shaped ones, making America stare in awe.

"Do I know how to pick a picnic spot or what?" England said with a smug look as he looked at the awe on America's face.

"There must be hundreds of different types of flowers here!" America said excitably, jumping up and down.

"Woah!" England yelped as he caught the basket that America had accidentally let slip out of his grasp in his excitement. "Do try and be more careful America."

"Oops, sorry." America said sheepishly as he took the basket back from England.

After that, they set up the blanket, and put out all the food. America enthusiastically picked up the sandwiches, and started to chow down on the food. England ate some of the fruit he had packed, and plucked a nearby flower and showed it to America.

"This one is called a Butterfly Weed, you can tell by the orange color. Like the name suggests, it attracts butterfly's." England explained, handing the flower to America for him to examine.

"It's pretty." America said happily. "Maybe we could plant these in our garden and attract more butterfly's!" America suggested as he put the flower down next to him.

"You'd have to ask James about that." England chuckled. England plucked another flower nearby, and again showed it to America. "This one is called a Jerusalem Artichoke." England said giving the yellow flower to America. "This little bugger can spread like wildfire. In fact, I think these are a favorite of bees around here."

"I don't like bees very much." America said with a shudder. "They sting me."

"They won't sting you if you didn't bother them." England said. "Plus, bees are vital for pollinating plants and making honey. No bees, no honey. I know that you enjoy the stuff, so you should like bees."

"Hmm." America hummed doubtfully as he put the other flower down. Looking around, he grabbed a purple flower near him and showed it to England. "What about this one?" America asked curiously.

"If I remember correctly, that one is called a Liatris. Not only are they pretty, but they also attract butterfly's, bees, and hummingbirds." England said after a moment of thought.

"I don't think I've ever seen a hummingbird up close before." America said with a frown. Looking up at England he asked, "Do you think we'll see one?"

"Maybe if we're lucky." England said as he finished his apple. "Are you done eating? If you are we can walk around and look at more of the flowers." He said standing up, dusting himself off as he did.

"Yeah!" America said brightly as he jumped up. For the next hour, the two of them wandered through the meadow, occasionally stopping here and there to look at a certain flower that caught their eye. Eventually, America started to get bored, and they wandered back to the picnic blanket. Sitting down, America grabbed a few of the flowers around them and started to make a flower crown. England pulled out a book he had brought with him, and started to read. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying the comfortable silence between them, both absorbed in their respective tasks. However, their silence was broken by the shifting of grass, and the sound of footsteps. Looking up, America saw James and a man he didn't recognize above them. The man didn't look very happy. England, apparently recognizing the man, scowled at him.

"Mr. Handcock, may I ask why you are intruding on my day off?" England asked harshly.

"You are needed at meeting with a messenger from the king. I am afraid that you need to come at once, as it is an urgent matter." Mr. Handcock said stiffly, ignoring the glare that America sent him.

"Can this not wait until later?" Asked England, pursing his lips in annoyance.

"I am afraid that it cannot." Handcock said bluntly.

"But England, you promised that you wouldn't be working today!" America said, hurt clearly showing on his face, making England's face fall. "You promised."

"I'm sorry, America." England said with a sigh, guilt making his stomach twist painfully. "But I'm afraid we're going to have to cut our day out short." The look of utter betrayal and hurt that America gave England just made him feel worse. "I promise we'll continue this another day." England said as he stood up, offering his hand to help America get up. America, obviously angry, ignored it and got up himself, and put the flower crown down on the ground. Not looking at England, he started to pack up their things, if a little bit forcefully.

James helped pack up their things, and this time America didn't offer to carry anything, instead storming off in the direction of the carriage. James shot England a sympathetic look, and followed Alfred to carriage. When they got to it, there was a second one. America didn't even give it a second glance, as he climbed into his and England's carriage, and slammed the door shut behind him. Wincing at the strength that America had used to shut the door, (which had dented the door), England sighed, and walked over to the other carriage. But before he got far, James placed a hand on England's shoulder, and nodded in America's direction.

"I'll talk to him sir." James promised. Giving England's shoulder a gentle squeeze, James let go and walked back to the carriage. England shook his head softly, promising himself he'd talk to America as soon as he got back, and climbed into the carriage with Handcock.

Meanwhile, America was fuming. How could England just abandon him like that? He had promised him the whole day with him. He had _promised!_

"England is such a jerk." America sniffed, and wiped his eyes, which had started to tear up. For the rest of the ride back, America sat in angry silence, trying not think about England. When they arrived back at the house, America opened the door, and silently hopped out of the carriage.

"Alfred," James said gently, walking over and crouched down to look the boy in the eyes, "Please don't blame England for what happened today. It was just unfortunate timing, that's all."

"Yeah, that seems to happen a lot with him." America grumbled.

"He really did want to stay with you, I promise." James said sadly. "He's probably just as upset as you are over this."

America snorted in disbelief. "Yeah right. He's always too busy for me. I should have gone with France." America spat in spite.

"Do you really mean that?" James asked with a raised eyebrow. America sat in angry silence for a moment, before drooping and shaking his head. "No." He answered quietly. Suddenly, Americas lip quivered and big tears started to fall down his face. "It's not fair." He hiccupped. "He promised."

"It'll be alright." James said gently as he wiped America's tears with his handkerchief. "I'm sure he'll make it up to you somehow." Picking up the boy, James carried Alfred into the kitchen. "In the meantime," James said as he opened the cupboards, "why don't you help me make some cookies, huh?" James asked with a wink. "We don't need to tell Mr. England about them. It can be our little secret."

Alfred gave a weak laugh. "Really?" He asked looking up at the old man in front of him.

"Yes." James said patting Alfred on the shoulder. "That'll be England's punishment for leaving early. That way you don't need to be angry at him anymore."

"Ok." Alfred said perking up a bit more. "Can I lick the batter off the spoon?"

"We'll I'm too old to do such things." James laughed. "You'll have to do it sense I can't."

America scoffed at the older man. "You're never too old to lick batter off a spoon."

"Hmm, maybe you're right." James said thoughtfully. "But if I lick the spoon, there won't be any left for you to lick."

"So, let's use two spoons!" America said.

"What a clever idea!" James said, pretending to be mad at himself. "I should have thought about that."

"I'll go get the spoons!" America laughed as he ran to the drawer with the spoons.

For the next hour, the two of them baked cookies, and James told America about when he was a younger man. America listened, enthralled by the story's James told. Eventually, the batter was done, and America laughed as James made funny faces as he licked his spoon. Soon, the kitchen smelled wonderful, and the cookies were done. America ate quite a few of them, and James continued to tell America stories. Finally, America finally started to dose off, so James carried him into the living room and placed him on the sofa. He gently covered the boy with a blanket, and turned down the lights. He then started to clean up the kitchen, glancing out the window every few minutes. Finally, just after it had gotten dark, a carriage pulled up, and England entered the house, looking tired.

"How did your talk with America go?" England asked as he hung his coat on the coat rack.

"He's feeling a lot better, but he was very upset when he got home." James stated.

England stood there for a moment, deep in thought. Then snapping his fingers, he grabbed his coat, pulled it back on, and grabbed America's coat.

"I just thought of something, tell me, where is America right now?" England asked looking around for the young boy.

"He is asleep on the sofa in the living room." James said with a raised eyebrow. "You're going to take him out this late at night?"

"No better time!" England said cheerfully as he hurried towards the living room. Entering the living room, he walked over to America and shook him awake. "America, it's me. Wake up."

"Wha-?" America asked drowsily as he squinted up at England. "England? What's going on?"

"Come on, put on your coat. We're going back to the field." England said eagerly.

"But it's too late now." America said bewildered by England's actions.

"No, it's actually the perfect time to go." England said. Helping America up, he helped put on his coat, then turned to James.

"Please fetch the carriage." He asked James. "We're going back to the field."

James raised an eyebrow, but didn't question England as he walked out of the room to do as he was told.

America gave England a funny look, but followed him out the door. Helping America into the carriage, England closed the door, and they were off. England didn't say anything, but he looked pleased with himself, which just confused America. Finally, after a while, they finally arrived at the field. Picking up America, England carried him out, and gesturing for James to stay behind, he looked at America.

"America, I need you to close your eyes." England said seriously. America did as he was told, and England carried him through the field, until finally, America felt him stop.

"Ok, now you can open them." England said cheerfully. Blinking his eyes open, America was stunned to see that they were in the clearing they had been in earlier that day, and now it was filled with hundreds of fireflies.

"Wow." America said quietly. They were everywhere. It looked as though the stars had fallen out of the sky and where dancing around them. America had never seen such a sight in his life, and was speechless.

"Wow indeed." England said softly. "Listen America, I'm truly sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to break my promise to you. I really did want to spend the day with you, and I didn't mean for my work to get in the way. I know that I'm not always around, but that doesn't I don't care about you. Can you forgive me?"

America felt himself starting to tear up again, and not trusting himself to speak, nodded and hugged England.

"You're the best big brother ever." America said. England blinked in surprise, and smiled. "Thank you, America, that means a lot to me.

And for the rest of the night, they sat side by side, watching the fireflies blink around them, content to be spending time with each other.

 ** _A/N: And that's just the first story. (*Note, James is an OC character from my other story, "Strange things about America." If you want to learn more about him, then he's on chapter 81.) I hope you guys liked this new story, and tell me if you want more chapter, and if so, which country I should write with America next. Just a heads up, I may switch between adult and young America. All reviews are welcome. Thanks!_**


	2. My Twin Brother

Canada yawned as he glanced at his watch for what felt like the hundredth time. He was picking America up from the airport for their annual New Year hangout, (which due to sever snow storms had forced them the delay their get together), and the plane was running late with its landing. As a result, Canada had been waiting at the airport for the last hour.

"Come on." Canada moaned as he tapped his fingers on the dash board. "Oh my god, this is taking for- _ever."_ Just then, his phone buzzed. Snatching it out of his pocket, he was relieved to see that his brother had finally landed.

 **A: Hey, just landed. Lots of wind turbulence. Meet you at the pickup.**

 **C: Took you long enough. I could feel myself dying from old age waiting for you.**

 **A: Bro, how long were you waiting for me?**

 **C: About an hour.**

 **A: You should never show up on time when it comes to planes. They're always late.**

 **C: Just hurry up. I've been staring at the same car for an hour, and I'm bored.**

 **A: And who's fault is that for showing up early?**

 **C: Keep talking like that and you can walk to my house.**

 **A: You know you love me.**

Scoffing at his brother's reply, Canada put away the phone and turned the car. Pulling out of the waiting area, he pulled up at the pickup zone, where he spotted America waving at him.

"Why, hello stranger." America said with a cheeky grin as he opened the passenger door. "Mind if I hitch a ride."

"Only if you pay me fifty dollars." Canada said sticking his hand out. America scoffed. "I'm your brother. You would never charge me."

"In that case, I'm goanna have to charge you one hundred dollars." Canada said with a smirk.

"You dick." America snorted in laughter as he put his suitcase in the back seat. Sliding into the passenger seat, America closed the door behind him and sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness, the heater is on." America held his hands up to the heater and rubbed them together.

"Where are the gloves I got you for Christmas?" Canada asked as he pulled out of the pickup zone.

"They're in my suitcase. I was too lazy to get them out." America said.

"So you'd rather freeze than put on your gloves?" Canada asked.

"Shut up."

Canada chuckled at the weak response as he pulled out of the airport. Glancing down at his phone, he realized that his GPS wasn't on.

"Hey Al, can you put in my address into the GPS on my phone?" Canada asked. "I'm kind of busy driving."

"Yeah, is your home address already logged into the phone?" America asked as he picked up the phone.

"Yeah, it should be the first thing that pops up. Canada said.

"Ok, it's in." America said.

"Cool, could you read the directions?"

"Yeah, you're going to want to take a right."

"Which right?"

"Next right."

"How long till I have to turn?"

"Uh, about half a mile."

"Ok, I see the turn."

"Yeah, that's the turn. You're going to want to take the second left after that."

"Ok, turning right. Second left?"

"Yep."

This went on for a while, until they reached a backroad, that was partly covered in snow. It had started to lightly snow, and the sun was starting to set. Canada frowned at the unfamiliar scenery.

"I don't think I recognize this road. Where is the GPS taking us?" Canada asked as he flicked the headlights on.

"Dude, how should I know?" America asked with a yawn.

"You're the one reading the directions." Canada said irritably.

"Well, according to your phone, we're going to be on this road for about ten miles, then we'll hit the main road." America said, scrolling through the map with a frown. "Hey, I think I recognize this road. I think I own a small cabin about two miles from where we are now."

"Oh yeah, you do." Canada said, suddenly remembering it. "How long has it been since you used it?"

"I don't think I've used it in about two years." America replied after thinking about it. "God, it must be so dusty by now."

"It probably has an army of sentient dust bunnies living in it by now." Canada laughed.

"Yeah, you're proba-WATCH OUT!" America suddenly shouted. Startled, Canada looked up and saw a huge object blocking the road. Slamming on the breaks, Canada felt the car going into a tailspin. Bracing for impact, the car spun out of control and off the road, and the front of the car crashed into a large tree. The airbags went off as they hit, slamming America into the car window with a painful crack and pinning Canada to his seat. America let out a cry of pain as his head collided with the window and his leg suddenly felt like it was on fire, and Canada felt his nose give a sickening crunch as the airbag collided with his face. As the car came to a halt, the two of them sat in a daze for a moment. Canada let out a groan as he pealed his face off the air bag.

"Ow." Canada moaned. Looking down, he saw that his nose was gushing blood. Grimacing, he realized that he most likely had a broken nose. Glancing over at America, he felt his heart stop when he saw his brother slummed over and unresponsive.

"Oh shit!" Canada exclaimed as he undid his seat belt and leaned over to check on America. He saw that there was a large gash on his brother's forehead, from the temple to just above the eye, most likely from when he hit the window, which had shattered from the impact. Looking down, Canada's stomach clenched when he saw that America's right leg was bent at a funny angle. Looking up out the window, Canada realized that the tree had hit the passenger side of the car, which meant that America had taken the worst of the impact.

"God damn it." Canada cursed as he tapped America's face. "Wake up Al. Now is not a good time for you to finally shut up." Unfortunately, America didn't respond. Feeling a ball of panic in his stomach, Canada looked around for his phone.

"Come on, come on." Canada muttered as he searched what was left of the front of the car. Finding his phone under America's seat, he pulled it out and his heart sank when he saw that it was completely smashed. Looking in America's Jacket, he saw that America's phone was now cracked, but still working. For a moment, he felt a small bit of hope that he could call EMS, until the phone cheerfully said that the battery was low, and went dead.

"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT! OF ALL THE TIMES NOT TO CHARGE YOUR PHONE!" Canada yelled in frustration. Sighing, Canada put his head in his hands. This was bad. They were in the middle of nowhere, on an abandoned road, in the middle of the night, with a now heavy snow fall, with a badly injured person, with a now unusable car. If they didn't do something soon, America was going to freeze to death.

"Mat-ty?" America muttered as he started to stir awake.

"Al, thank god!" Canada said, looking over at his brother, who was blinking slowly with unfocused eyes. Leaning over, he took America's head into his hands so that he didn't move his head.

"Hey, talk to me." Canada said in concern. "How are you doing?"

"I feel like Russia just hit me over the head with that pipe of his." America said as he tried to focus on Canada. To Canada's dismay, he noticed that America's pupils where two different sizes.

"Can you tell me on a scale of one to ten how bad your concussion is?" Canada asked.

"It's pretty mild, I think." America said as he started to get a bit more alert. Suddenly, he noticed the blood all over Canada's front.

"Dude! Are you alright?" America said trying to sit up, only for Canada to hold him still. "That's not a good idea." Canada said. "And I'm fine, just a broken nose. Is your neck hurting you?"

"No, but I have a splitting headache." America said with a weak laugh. "And not to mention my leg hurts like crazy. What's up with tha-oh. Oh yeah, that's defiantly broken. That's going to hurt like a son of a bitch once the adrenaline wears off." America rambled as he looked down at his leg.

"You're rambling." Canada said as he started to open his door.

"Sorry." America said. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting my first aid kit out of the trunk." Canada said as he walked to the back of the car.

"Oh. Yeah, that would make sense. By the way, what was in the road? Did you see?" America asked.

"Uh, yeah." Canada responded as he dug through the trunk. "It looked like a moose."

"Fucking moose." America grumbled. "Always causing trouble."

"Usually, I would kick your ass for talking shit about moose, but right now I'm going to agree with you." Canada chuckled. "Ah-ha, there it is." Canada said as he spotted the kit. Picking it up, he walked over to the passenger side and tried to open the door. To his annoyance, the door was crumpled so that the door couldn't open.

"I could help you with that. But it's not going to be attached to the car anymore." America said with a lopsided grin.

"At this point, I think my car is beyond saving." Canada said. "Go for it."

Grinning, America took the inside of the door and gave it a hard shove. Immediately, the door popped of the hinges and fell onto the snow with a fwoop.

Sighing, Canada shook his head sadly. "My poor car." America snorted, then grimaced in pain. "Ow, that was a bad idea."

"You don't say." Canada said sarcastically. Pulling out a shock blanket, he draped it over America. America gave Canada a confused look. "Uh, I don't think I'm in shock."

"Yes, but unlike me and, as you put it, 'my weird Canadian powers', I'm almost immune to the cold. You, on the other hand, are not." Canada said as he pulled out the bandages. "That's to help you not freeze to death."

"Oh." America said. "I forgot about that."

"Yep, defiantly a concussion." Canada sighed as he started to wrap the bandage around America's head.

"How deep is the cut?" America asked as he winced at the pressure of the bandage.

"It's deep, but I don't think you'll need stiches." Canada said finishing up. Sighing, he looked down at America's leg. "I'm going to have to splint that."

"Well, use your skills, and patch me up, doctor Mattie." America said.

Pulling out the splints, he gave America a sympathetic look. "I need to get to your leg, Al. I need you to move your leg out of the car.

America grimaced as he tried to move his leg. "Oh, that hurts." He hissed as he jostled his leg. Finally, after a minute of struggling, America was able to get his leg out. He tried to straighten it out, but he doubled over in pain. "Yeah, that's not going to happen."

"Well, it looks like a clean break." Canada said as he examined the leg. I should be able to put it back into place."

"Uh, are you able to do that?" America asked nervously. "I mean, I know I called you doctor Mattie earlier, but I was just joking." Canada scoffed as he gave his brother a scathing look. "I've been putting bones back into place for centuries Al. I'm probably even better than a doctor at doing this."

"Just saying!" America said putting his hands up in defense. Rolling his eyes, Canada put he's hand firmly on the bone, and started to slowly pull the bone back into place.

"Ow, ow, ow!" America whimpered.

"Just a few more seconds." Canada said as he pushed hard. "And…" Canada said as the bone finally went back into place, "done."

"I think I'm going to throw up." America said, his face going grey.

"Oh hell no." Canada said turning America away from him. "You are not barfing on me."

"Just splint the damn leg." America groaned as he held his head.

"Are you ok? Is your head getting worse?" Canada asked in alarm.

"I just feel dizzy." America said waving off his brother's concern. Frowning, Canada didn't push the issue, and started to make the splint. Suddenly, America let out a yell of triumph. "Hey, remember I said that my cabin was nearby? We can use my phone there to call an ambulance."

For a moment, Canada thought about it. Frowning, he nodded. "I suppose that could work, but how are you going to get there? You can't exactly walk on that leg, and it's freezing out here."

"I have extra clothes in my suitcase." America said reaching over the back of the seat and grabbing his suitcase, which had somehow managed to survive the crash. "Now is as good as time as ever to get my gloves. And jackets. And blankets. Maybe some extra socks?" America muttered to himself as he dug through his case.

"That's all well and good, but how am I going to transport you?" Canada asked worriedly. "I can't just carry you. Not with a concussion and a broken leg. I'll make it worse."

"Tear the hood off the car off. That can be the sleigh. Then rip off the seat belts to use as rope to pull." America said itching at the bandages.

"Quit that." Canada snapped as he smacked America's hand. "And you want to sit on a cold piece of metal in freezing tempters? I can give you a number of reasons on why that is a bad idea."

"That's what the blankets are for." America said. "Cover the metal up."

Canada thought for a moment, then nodded. "All right. I think that can work. Bundle yourself up, and I'll start working on the sleigh. As Canada started to rip the hood off the car, America started to put on extra jackets, blankets, hats, and scarfs.

"Jeez, how much winter stuff did you fit in that suitcase?" Canada asked in awe. "And how did you fit it all in that tiny case?"

"Trade secret, and I am coming to Canada in the middle of winter. I am going to be bringing all of my winter clothes." America said with a smirk.

"Well, it seems to have payed off." Canada said as he tied the seatbelts to the hood. After putting the blankets around hood, he placed it in front of America.

"Alright. I'm going to help you sit down. Lean on to me." Canada said as he grabbed America around the waist.

"Please don't drop me." America said as he wobbled up. As he stood up, he suddenly got dizzy and blacked out for a moment. A few seconds later, he woke up to being held up by his twin, who was yelling his name franticly.

"I'm ok." America slurred.

"Bullshit." Canada said angrily. "Why didn't you tell me you were this bad?"

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't realize?" America asked as he sat down on the hood.

Canada gave out a long-suffering sigh. "Yes, I would." Canada picked up the last blanket, and threw it over America. "Here, this will keep the snow off of you as it falls."

"Thanks." America said.

Canada grabbed a flashlight out of the med kit, clicked it on and off a few times to make sure it worked, and turned to America. "Here we go. If you need me to stop, let me know." Canada warned, and he started to pull his brother. Thankfully, the hood wasn't too heavy, and there was enough snow on the ground so it was easy to pull it without it dragging, so for the first half mile they were able to make good time. Unfortunately, that's when things started to go downhill.

"Mattie, stop, stop." America gagged as he put his hand to his mouth. "I'm going to hurl." And with that, America leaned over the side of the hood and started to heave.

"Oh dear, this isn't good." Canada mumbled as he rubbed circles into his brother's shoulders.

"My head hurts." America moaned as he wiped his mouth.

"I know." Canada said sadly, wishing he could do more.

"I'm tired. Can I rest for a while?" America asked, eyes starting to droop.

"I don't think that's a very good idea." Canada said in alarm. "I need you to stay awake."

"But I'm so tired." America slurred.

"How about we talk about something?" Canada asked as he placed America back on the hood, and started to move at a quicker pace.

"Yeah, what about?" America asked.

"Do you remember the time that I wacked you in the face with the Wii remote?" Canada asked, a small smirk on his face.

"That's just a cruel topic to bring up." America grumbled. "Let's try talking about something with less head trauma."

"How about the time kumages ate my sandwich?" Canada suggested.

"Who?" America asked in confusion.

"God, I hate that word." Canada said under his breath so America couldn't hear. "You know, my bear?"

"Oh, you mean Kumajirou!" America said. "Bro, you need to learn your pet's name."

"He doesn't even remember my name ninety percent of the time." Canada said. "Anyhow, it was that Christmas that you gave a bunch of nations anonymous gifts. I was eating a sandwich when you knocked on my door, and Kumkle,"

"Kumajirou."

"Whatever. Anyways, he was begging for food, and he was eyeballing my sandwich. So, you knock on the door, and I put my sandwich down and tell him not to touch it."

"I bet that worked out well." America said in amusement.

"Mm-hmm. So, I go to the door and look out the peephole, and it's all red. So, I open the door and see a present taped to the door."

"You're the only person I know who always looks out the peep hole without fail." America said with a tired smile.

"Yeah, that's how I figured out it was you who gave it to me. So I open the present, loved it by the way, and turned around, and the bear, along with my sandwich, was gone."

"You shouldn't have left your sandwich alone." America chuckled. "You only have yourself to blame."

"I suppose you're right." Canada snickered. "What about you? Anything interesting happen to you while you were handing out presents?"

"Japan almost caught me." America said closing his eyes. "I had just knocked on the door, and I guess he was right by the door, so the door started to open immediately after. So I was all like, "Oh shit, Japan is going to see me!" So, I dropped the present where he would trip over it, and ran for it. Thankfully, I got away."

"How did you give Russia his present?" Canada asked as he checked on his brother. They only had about half a mile left. "Hey, keep your eyes open."

"Hmm? Oh, sorry." America said as he forced his eyes open again. "What was that?"

"How did you give Russia his present?" Canada asked. "From what he told me you weren't in the hall and the present was thrown into the room. So how did you do it?"

"Oh, I was proud of myself on that one." America said with a laugh. "I hid in the ceiling. I dropped from the ceiling, knocked on the door, twice because he didn't come at first, pulled myself back up into the ceiling, and then when he was about to shut the door threw the present in and hid myself again."

"Man, it almost takes the magic away from the original story." Canada snickered.

"I can't believe I forgot to give myself a secret present." America huffed. "Rookie mistake."

"Not to interrupt you, but isn't that your driveway?" Canada asked as he pointed up the road. Looking over, America saw a familiar mailbox.

"Yeah, that's the driveway." America said.

"Finally." Canada said in relief. "How are you doing?"

"I want to sleep." America said tiredly. I keep nodding off here.

"Wait until you're at least in the ambulance until you fall asleep." Canada said as he turned them into the driveway.

"I'll try, but I make no promises." America said as they reached the house.

"Please tell me you have been paying for the electricity on this house." Canada said.

"Oh, trust me I have. This is a safe house." America explained. "If I need to get away from angry nations, or my boss this is usually where I come. The key is under the mat."

"Really? Under the mat?" Canada scolded as he got the key.

"It works, ok?" America defended.

"Whatever you say." Canada said shaking his head as he opened the door. At once, warm air washed over them and they gave a sigh of relief.

"Oh, sweet warm air." America sighed as Canada helped him up.

"Come on, just a few more steps." Canada said as he helped him over to the couch. As America sat down, Canada walked over to the phone and dialed 911.

_ ** _LINE BREAK__**

"I have to admit, I'm impressed." The doctor said as he finished putting on America's cast. "You set the bone perfectly. Do you have a medical history?" He asked, glancing at Canada.

"I took a few emergency first aid courses." Canada said off handedly.

"Maybe you should consider a medical perfusion." The doctor joked.

"Thank you for the help doc." America said happily. "But do I really need to stay in the hospital for two more days?"

"Yes. Head injuries are serious things you know, and sense you were passing out I want to keep you under observation." The doctor said sternly.

Just then, the doors burst open and England and France came in.

"Where are my poor baby's?!" France cried as he ran into the room.

"Francis, you're causing a scene." England sighed as he followed him.

"Que se passe-t-il*, Matthew! Why are you covered in blood?" France cried as he got a good look at Canada.

"Broken nose." Canada said with a shrug. "The airbag went off and hit me in the face."

"Yeah, and I got hit by a tree." America said cheerfully from the bed.

"Don't sound so happy about it." England sighed as he sat next to America.

"My goodness Alfred, how do you always end up hitting your head?" France asked shaking his head.

"It wasn't my fault this time." America huffed. "It was a moose's fault."

"Is that the concussion talking or is that really what happened?" England asked Canada.

"No, it was a moose's fault." Canada said with a nod. Suddenly, America started laughing like crazy. Concerned, everyone looked at America.

"What's so funny?" Canada asked.

"We didn't end up walking to your place like you threatened, but to mine!" America gasped.

"You're an idiot." Canada said whacking a pillow into America's chest.

"You know you love me." America said winking.

 ** _*France says-What the hell!_**

 **A/N: Yay, I finally finished this after so many hours. So many hours. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to leave a review. Tell me who you want to see interact with America next. Thanks, have a nice day!**


	3. My Superman

America sighed as he looked up at the clock on the wall. He had been sitting in the world meeting for the last five hours, and because he had forgotten his snacks, (he had been late, so he had rushed out without them by accident), he hadn't had anything since breakfast. So, he was hungry and in serious need of a caffeine fix.

"So, as you can see, there is an issue of how to transport these goods…" Germany droned on, making America want to jump out the window. Sometimes he wished that all their meetings were crazy, because then they would be more entertaining, and he would be able to slip out of the room and eat. Glancing around the room, America noticed that a few of the other nations weren't paying attention as well. Greece was fast asleep, with a cat on his head. America couldn't help but wonder how it had gotten in without someone noticing. Japan was doodling cute little cartoon characters on the edge of his papers, and sitting next to him Italy was spacing out. A little further down the table, Russia was playing with the edge of his scarf, seemingly deep in thought. France and England were bickering about something, (big shocker there), and China was writing a grocery list.

"Unfortunately, that seems that's all the time we have today." Germany said, making America come out of his musings. "We shall meet again tomorrow in this same room, at the same time. You are dismissed." With that, the other nations broke out into conversation, and the sound of papers being shuffled filled the air.

"Oh, thank god." America muttered as he stood up, stretching his arms above his head. "I need a quick bite to eat." America thought as he gathered up his things. Just as he had collected all his papers, he felt someone run into the back of him, making him drop all his stuff. Catching himself at the last moment, America heard a squeak of surprise behind him. Turning around, he spotted Sealand looking up at him in embarrassment.

"Sorry Mr. America." Sealand said.

"No problem, little dude." America said with a tried, but friendly smile as he picked up his papers. "Happens to the best of us. And please, call me Alfred."

"Uh, sure." Sealand said with an unsure smile.

"What are you doing here?" America asked as he put his things in his briefcase. "Does England know you're here?" As he said this, Sealand started to pout.

"No, I'm not with him. I'm here with Sweden and Finland." He said with a huff.

"Oh yeah, I forgot they practically adopted you." America chuckled. "How are you liking living with them?"

Sealand perked up a bit at that. "I really like it! They're really nice to me, and they're food is so much better's than England's!"

"I bet it is." America said, shuddering at the thought of England's cooking. Just then, Sweden and Finland came up behind Sealand.

"Oh, hello America." Sweden said with a nod.

"America, how are you doing?" Finland asked happily.

"I'm doing well, thanks." America said.

"Oh god, grown up talk." Sealand muttered as he rolled his eyes.

Chuckling at the comment, Finland shook his head fondly. "I remember when you were this small America."

"Oh yeah, you two were some of the first nations that originally found me." America said with a grin.

"Really?" Sealand asked looking up at Finland in awe.

"Oh yes, I still say he takes his looks more after me than England or France." Finland said with a wink towards America.

"That may explain why I never got the England eyebrows." America said with a snort of laughter.

"What was America like when he was small?" Sealand asked Sweden.

"He was very clingy to England." Sweden said, making America sputter in protest.

"Oh yeah, I remember him trailing behind England when he was a baby like a duckling." Finland cooed. "He always tried to imitate England."

"Ok, that's enough!" America said, his face a bright shade of pink. Let's talk about something else.

"But I want to hear more!" Sealand protested.

"Why don't you take him out to lunch, America?" Finland suggested. "You can tell him what he wants to hear."

"Finland and I have to get to another meeting, and Sealand hasn't eaten lunch yet. You two could get acquainted." Sweden suggested.

"Yeah!" Sealand said happily, looking hopefully up at America. "Please Mr. America?"

Looking down at Sealand, America gave a sigh. How could he say no to that? Plus, he needed to grab something to eat anyway. "Alright kiddo, where do you want to go?"

"McDonalds!" Sealand said happily. Finland frowned at that. "Sealand, McDonalds is not a very healthy choice. Why don't you take him to Ruby Tuesdays?" He suggested, making Sealand pout.

"Sorry kiddo, maybe next time." America said, ruffling Sealand hair. "Come on, we're wasting daylight." After exchanging pick up information, America and Sealand said goodbye to the older nations, and walked out of the meeting room.

"So, Mr. America," Sealand started to ask, but was cut off by America.

"Please, call me Alfred. Calling me Mr. America makes me feel old." America joked.

"Alfred," Sealand corrected, "You were really close to England when you were younger?"

"Well, I was an English colony for a century and a half." America said. "Me and England were pretty close during that time."

"Is it true that you swung buffalo over your head when you were just a baby?' Sealand asked, giving America a look of admiration.

"Yup." America said as they walked into the parking lot. "I don't really remember it, but England says that I scared the daylights out of him when I ran up to the buffalo. There was also that time I pulled around England's car for an hour because I couldn't find him to ask permission to drive it."

"So, you're like, super strong." Sealand clarified.

"Yep." America said, popping the p. "Have been my whole life. So is Canada."

"Canada?" Sealand asked in astonishment. "Really?"

"Yeah, he's just a lot better at keeping it under control." America sighed. "I'm actually really jealous of his ability to do that." Then looking down seriously, he pointed a finger at Sealand. "Just for future reference, never play hockey with Canada. He likes to cut loose when he does."

"Noted." Sealand said. "Are you sure you're not pulling my leg? Can you show me your strength? Can you really pick up a car?" At that, America scoffed. "If I could pick up a 1,400lb buffalo as a baby, what makes you think I can't lift more as an adult?"

"Go on, prove it!" Sealand prompted the older nation. "Pick up your car!"

"Uh, no." America said seriously. "Unlike like in the comics, when I pick up a car I end up messing up the suspension and other things under the car. Plus, if I drop it on you I'll have to face Finland, and believe it or not, that guy is a lot scarier than he looks."

"Aw." Sealand said. Laughing at the disappointment, America unlocked his car. "If I find something heavy to lift that I won't break by doing so, I'll demonstrate my strength for you. That sound good?"

"Deal!" Sealand said cheerfully as he hopped into the backseat.

"Ok, let's get going." America said as he pulled out of the lot. After a few minutes, they made it to the restaurant, and took their seats. After ordering their drinks, (America a black coffee and Sealand a soda), Sealand started asking more questions.

"So, what was it like living with England so long ago?" Sealand asked eagerly. "Was he always a stick in the mud?" At that, America snorted with laughter. "Yes and no. He probably hasn't told you yet, but he was a gentleman for most of the years I was his colony, but he went through a pirate stage."

"England was a pirate?" Sealand asked, his mouth hanging open in shock.

"Uh-huh." America said casually as he sipped his coffee. "I think he still has some of the tattoos from those days."

"You must be joking." Sealand said.

"Nope, 100% true." America said. "He and Spain still have a grudge over it. They can't even play the board game battle ship without trying to kill each other for real."

"So, what was Pirate England like?" Sealand asked excitably.

"I don't really know." America said with an apologetic look. "I didn't really see him much during that time. From what I do remember he was a bit of an asshole."

"In what way?" Sealand inquired.

"Mostly drank a lot, broke a lot of stuff in the house when he got pissed off, and talked a lot of shit about Spain." America said. "He calmed down eventually."

"What else happened?" Sealand asked as he glanced over his menu.

"To be honest, not a lot. He mostly gave me an education and spent most of his time overseas." America said.

"That's pretty anti-climatic." Sealand said in surprise.

"He wasn't always around. It was a lot harder to travel back then between the two countries, so he came over ever few years give or take." America explained.

"Didn't you ever get lonely?" Sealand asked curiously.

"Yeah, I did." America said with a sad smile, stirring his cream into his coffee with his spoon. "I was alone for long periods of time, but I had friends I could hang out with. And I met Canada soon afterwards, so I had him around."

"So, if you were so close to each other, what happened?" Sealand asked. At the question, America grimaced.

"I went independent."

"How come?" Sealand asked with a frown. "From what I've heard, you adored England."

"Taxes mostly." America said as he sipped his coffee.

"God, that sounds like the most boring reason ever to go to war." Sealand sighed.

"Well what did you expect?" America chuckled.

"Something less boring." Sealand said. Just then, the waiter came by, and they gave their orders. (America ordered a burger and fries, and Sealand ordered the same thing.)

"So, what's it like being a superpower?" Sealand asked, abruptly changing the conversation.

Taken aback by the question, America frowned in thought. "You know, I think you're the first person to ever ask me that."

"Really?" Sealand asked in disbelief. "No one has ever asked you that before?"

"I don't think so." America said, shaking his head. "It's pretty hard. I have to do a lot of paperwork, go to a bunch of meetings every day, always do everything right, and try to say the right thing, because if I don't everyone criticizes me. If I do one thing, everyone either loves me or hates me for it, if my new boss isn't liked by most people in the world, I get a load of shit thrown my way. I have a shit ton of enemies who would like nothing more than to knock me down a few pegs, and a lot of tension with other countries. A lot of negative stereotypes are thrown my way as well." America said glumly.

"Wow, that sucks." Sealand said. At Sealand response, America burst out laughing. "I guess that's one way to put it."

"So, is there anything good about being a superpower?" Sealand asked as they got their food. After thanking the waiter, America pondered the question for a few minutes. "Well, I've got the biggest military in the world, so that's pretty neat." America said with a smug grin. "Plus, I have a lot of influence on what happens in the world. And my people, in my opinion, are awesome."

"That sounds pretty cool." Sealand said as he ate his fries.

"It depends. Sometimes being a superpower is a good thing, sometimes it has its draw backs." America said with a shrug as he dug into his own food. "I mean, take the cold war for example. Between me and Russia, we could have ended up destroying the world." Then looking glum again, America stated, "I hate having that kind of power."

Sealand thought about that for a moment. What would he do if he had all the power in the world? Would he use it wisely, hell, would he be able to handle that kind of pressure? Somehow Sealand doubted it. For a moment, Sealand was very grateful that America never thought of conquering the world.

"So, do you ever regret becoming a superpower?" Sealand asked.

"To be honest, sometimes." America said, surprising Sealand. He had expected America to say something along the lines of, 'Of course not, because I'm the hero', or, 'And let that commie bastard become the super of the world? No way!'

"What?" Sealand asked. "I'd think you would like using all that power to help others."

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I love that part." America stated with a chuckle. "But sometimes I miss the days when I was a smaller county. I didn't do as much, and I used to do and say things that, while strange, didn't make the world want to make such a big deal out of it. They were just like, "Oh yeah, America. He kind of does his own thing."

"Well, hearing you say all that, I don't think I want to be a superpower." Sealand stated firmly as he finished his meal. "But I'm still going to be a great nation one day, just you wait and see!" Sealand said confidently.

"I look forwards to it." America chuckled as he flagged the waiter down for the bill. After paying it, he looked down at his watch. "I think we should get going. It's about time for me to drop you off."

"Aww, ok." Sealand said sadly.

"Hey, cheer up kiddo, we can do this again if you want." America said as they walked towards the exit.

"Really?" Sealand asked, looking hopefully up at America.

"Yep." America said as he opened the door.

"Awesome!" Sealand said with a laugh, and hurried towards America's car.

Just then, there was a loud honking noise, and snapping his head to the side, America was horrified to see a car racing towards them. More specifically, towards Sealand, who had raced in front of him. Years of instinct kicked as America shoved Sealand out of the way, and put his hand out to stop the car. Then, just a second before the car hit him, he remembered that he had destroyed the last car that had he had done that to, and had got his ass sued. So instead, he went for under the car, and as he caught it in his hands, used the momentum of the car to throw it over his head. (About a foot over his head.) Sealand, the driver of the car, the people inside the restaurant who happened to be looking outside, and all the people around them felt their jaws drop as the car landed on the street, and screeched to a halt. For a moment, there was a moment of silence, and then Sealand let out a whoop of joy. "That was bloody amazing!" just then, the driver of the car stumbled out of their car, staring at America.

"W-what the hell just happened?" The man asked as he stared at America.

"I'm superman." America joked.

"Considering what just happened, I believe you." The man said as he sat down on the ground.

Taking that as his cue to leave, America grabbed Sealand's hand and started pulling him back to the car in a hurry. "Well, no reason to hang around and cause a scene." America half joked.

"That was wicked!" Sealand said, staring at America in awe. "Do it again!"

"No." America said. "That was way too close. And uh, yeah, if you wouldn't mention what just happened to Finland, I would be internally grateful." America said as he unlocked the car and hurriedly got in with Sealand, his face going pale. "Superpower or no, I am not willing to face the mother bear that is Finland."

 ** _A/N:_** **I hope you liked the story. I couldn't really think of anything for America to lift to prove his strength, so I was like, "Screw it, he's throwing a car." Maybe that's the lack of sleep talking. Fun fact, I write most of my stories late at night, Like 1am-4am, because 1. I'm a night owl, 2. That's when I get all my best idea's, 3. It's the only time I have enough time to write stories, and 4. Why the hell not? Btw, sorry for any spelling errors or misused words. I do try to fix it, but let's be real, I'm a horrible editor. I'm going to be doing France next. So if you want to see someone after him, please leave a suggestion. Thanks!**


	4. My Chef In Training

America hummed as he took the popcorn out of the microwave. He had finally caught up with all of his work, so his boss had given him the weekend off. Not one to say no to vacation days, (as he so rarely got them), America was excited to catch up with all of his shows. As he sat down on the couch, America's cat, Hero, jumped onto his lap, turned around once, and sat down purring. Scratching him behind the ears, America turned on the tv, and started to channel surf. Just as he decided on a show, his doorbell rang. Groaning, America picked up hero, who growled at being removed from the nice warm lap, and walked over to the door. Opening it, he was surprised to see none other than France on his doorstep, holding a bunch of grocery bags.

"France, to what do I owe the pleasure?" America asked, raising an eyebrow.

"America, how are you? I heard that you got the weekend off!" France said happily, as he walked into America's house. Closing the door, America followed France into his kitchen. "I'm here to give you a cooking lesson." France said excitably.

"What? How come?" America asked in bewilderment.

"Come on, don't play dumb with me." France scoffed, throwing America an unimpressed look. "We both know you don't cook anymore."

"I cook!" America said defensively.

"Making things in the microwave doesn't count." France said as he started to lay ingredients on the counter. "Tell me, honestly, when was the last time you actually made a good homecooked meal?"

"Um…"

"Exactly." France said. "You've been neglecting yourself."

"But that doesn't mean I don't know how to cook!" America huffed. "I'm not a bad cook."

"Yes, I'm willing to agree with you." France sighed. "Thank god you realized how bad England is at cooking. I was afraid you were going to pick up his inability to cook at one point. Although I'm afraid your taste buds have been ruined forever."

"Please stop insulting me in my house." America said good humoredly, picking up hero, who had hopped on the counter to sniff at the food.

"Pardon, I didn't intend to." France chuckled. "Anyways, I was thinking about teaching you how to make Gratin Dauphinois."

"And, what is that?" America asked as hero purred in his arms.

"It's a potato dish." France said. "But before we start, why don't you put the cat down and wash your hands?" As he said this, Hero narrowed his eyes at the Frenchman.

"Sorry buddy, I got to put you down." America said as he put Hero down. Sulking, Hero stalked out of the room. After washing his hands, he walked over to France, who had set aside potatoes, garlic, cream, butter, milk, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

"Alright, I need you to wash these." France said, handing America the potatoes.

"You know, now that you mention him, how is England?" America asked as he walked over to the sink.

"Oh, he's fine." France said as he started to chop up the garlic. "Apparently Sealand has been bugging him for stories about pirates." As France said this, America, who had just started to wash the potatoes, burst out laughing. "Oh, that would be my fault. I was hanging out with Sealand a few days ago and I told him that England was a pirate."

"Ah, that would explain it." France said with a chuckle. "And how is Matthew doing? I haven't seen him in a while."

"He's fine." America said with a shudder. "He tried to make me play hockey with him recently."

"Oh dear." France said with a frown. "Did you escape?"

"No." America said. "I got the crap beat out of me."

"Language." France said as he filled up a saucepan with water. "And I don't know where Canada got that ruthlessness."

"I don't know, but it really doesn't suit him." America said. For a while, they worked in comfortable silence, only broken by France when he instructed America to do something. Then, about half an hour into cooking, America thought of something that England had told him about a year ago.

"Hey France, can I ask you something?" America asked.

"And what would that be?" France asked as he tipped the potatoes into the saucepan.

"England told me about the time that you tried to make him eat a snail pie." America said. "Mind telling me about it from your point of view?"

As America asked this, France burst out laughing. "Oh, I remember that. England never forgave me for that."

"So he says." America said, sitting down at the table. "So, what exactly made you want to make a snail pie in the first place?"

"As you know, I have enjoyed Escargot for many centuries." France said, checking to make sure the flames under the pot where hot enough. Seemingly happy, he walked over to the table, and sat down. "Well, I started to wonder what else I could put snails in. So I thought to myself, why not pie?"

"Really, out of all the things you could have put it in, you chose pie?" America said making a face.

"I thought you liked escargot?" France asked.

"I do, just in small doses." America said with a shrug.

"Well, anyways, I tried it out, and I thought it turned out pretty well." France said. "So of course, being the good neighbor that I am, I thought to share it with England."

"Are you sure you weren't just trying to mess with him?" America asked with an amused look.

"Well, that too." France said with a wink. "So, I go over to England's place, and ask him to try out my new recipe. Of course, being the tight ass that he is, he refused at first. But I finally wore him down, and he finally tried some."

"He said that he didn't like it." America said. Just then, Hero jumped onto America's lap again, purring loudly. As America scratched Hero under his chin, France snorted in disbelief.

"Don't believe what England says. He actually really liked it. That was, until I told him what was in it. Then he spit it all over my face." France said, grimacing. America started to laugh. "He didn't tell me that part."

"No, I'm sure he didn't." France said. "He refused to touch any other pie I gave him for the next decade after that."

"Well, to be honest with you, that's not the weirdest dish I've ever heard of." America said with a shudder. "Some of China's dishes are enough to make me run for the hills."

"Oh, I'm sure they do." France said with a chuckle.

"He tried to feed me scorpions!" America said in disgust. "Scorpions!"

"I'll admit, that's rather exotic." France said. "Did it taste any good?"

"I don't know, I wouldn't eat it." America said.

"Why ever not?" France asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Dude, I refuse to eat anything that has a stinger on it." America said with a 'nah duh' tone.

"Well, you might have actually enjoyed it." France said. "You need to give different foods a try."

"If by "try" you mean squish it under my shoe, then yes, your right." America said. "Not only did he try to feed me scorpions, he tried to feed me a massive SPIDER!"

"Alright, I admit, I think I'd draw the line there." France said in disgust.

"China can be really weird sometimes." America said. After a moment of petting Hero, he spoke up again. "So, what's the weirdest thing you've actually eaten?"

"Hmm, that's a tough one." France said, frowning in thought. "I think one of the weirder things I've tried was stewed cow feet and head. I think Turkey was the one who served it to me."

"How do you even eat cow feet?" America asked curiously.

"It was pretty hard to chew, I admit." France chuckled.

"I think the weirdest thing I ever ate was a wasp cracker." America said with a shudder. "Japan offered me one, and it looked like a chocolate chip, so I ate it. When it crunched, I knew something was up. They still had their wings and everything. Japan still laughs at me about it."

"Why would anyone want to eat wasps?" France asked in confusion.

"I don't know, but now I look at everything he gives me now." America said.

Just then, the timer went off, and France got up. Walking over to the stove, he turned off the stove, and pulled out the cream and butter. "Did you preheat the oven?"

"Yeah, I did." America said.

"Good, now, all you have to do is pour the what's in the saucepan into the casserole dish, cover it in the cream and butter, and bake it for about 50 minutes." France said as he showed America what he was doing.

"So, do you want to watch a show while it's baking?" America asked as France put the dish into the oven.

"Sure." France said. As they walked into the living room, America noticed the popcorn that he had made earlier. "Shoot, the popcorns cold." America said as he picked up the bowl. "Hold on, let me make a new batch."

"You know, I think we were wrong about the strangest thing we have ever eaten." France said as he sat down.

"Oh, what do you mean?" America asked in confusion.

"England's scones are by far the weirdest, and most disgusting thing we have ever eaten." France said, and they both shuddered in disgust.

"Truer words have never been spoken." America said.

 ** _A/N:_** **Hey, I'm back. Hope you guys liked the chapter. I had fun making this one. This chapter is based off of all the times my dad had to go to china for his business trips. He's eaten Blood duck soup, tuna eyes, and jelly fish. Yum! What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?**


	5. My Frenemy

Russia sighed as he knocked on his boss's door. He had been told he had the weekend off, but apparently his boss had a special assignment for him. A little irked, and a tad bit curious, Russia couldn't help but wonder what was so important that he had to be called in.

"Enter." His boss answered. Opening the door, Russia noticed his boss wasn't angry or irritated, so he took it as a good sign. As he sat down in the chair in front of the desk, his boss studied the nation in front of him, then sighed.

"Russia, I'm well aware that this is supposed to be your weekend off, but this is an important assignment, one that I need you to take very seriously."

"Of course." Russia said.

"As of this moment, our relationship with America seems to be a little rocky." Russia's boss said, pulling out a folder out of his desk and handing it to Russia. "As you know, it's important for us to keep a good relationship with them, as we really don't need a second cold war."

"Da, I know this." Russia said with a frown, opening the folder and reading the papers inside.

"So, in order for you and America to get on better terms, I want you to spend time with America, and get to know him a little better. Of course, this applies to America as well." Russia's boss said.

Russia raised an eyebrow at this. "And America agreed to do this?"

"Well, it did take some persuasion, but he did finally agree to the idea."

"And, what is the catch?" Russia asked. "There is always a catch with him."

"Well, I won't say always, but yes, there is a catch." Russia's boss sighed. "America only agreed to do it if you went to his country. I'm assuming this is because he wants to keep an eye on you on his, how does he say it, home turf?"

Smirking, Russia closed the folder. "A very wise policy. He may act like a complete moron, but he's not a fool."

"Hmm." Russia's boss agreed. "Of course, you don't need to do anything specifically, but don't cause an international incident either. But most of all, just don't start a fight with him."

"I'm sure we'll get along just fine." Russia said as he stood up. "Good day." And with that, Russia walked out of the office. As the door closed, Russia's boss sighed and held his head in his hands. "They'll be at each other's throats before they leave the airport."

_LineBreak_

"Russia, nice to see you." America said he met Russia at the airport pickup.

"Privet." Russia said.

"How was the flight over?" America asked as they walked towards the luggage pickup.

"It went well." Russia answered. As they walked to the conveyer belt, an awkward silence fell between them. After a moment, America spoke up.

"Well, this is awkward." America muttered.

"Very." Russia replied.

"We suck at small talk."

"Da, we do." Russia said as he grabbed his suitcase.

"Soo, do you want to talk in the car, or do you want to sit in uncomfortable silence, because out of the two I'd rather talk." America asked as they walked towards the parking lot.

"If you have anything interesting to talk about, I'm willing to talk." Russia said.

"Hmm, that won't be very hard." America chuckled as he grabbed his keys out of his pocket, and unlocked the trunk of his car. "I'm always interesting."

"That's one way to put it." Muttered Russia as he put his luggage in the car.

"What was that?" America asked as he walked over to the driver's side.

"Nothing." Russia said with a small smile.

"Uh-huh. I'm sure." America said skeptically as he slid into the driver seat.

As soon as they pulled out of the parking lot, America spoke up again.

"Did you want to get a bite to eat first, or did you just want to go straight to my place?" America asked.

"If you don't mind, I think I would like to go straight to your house." Russia said. "The jet lag this time around is pretty bad."

"I totally understand." America chuckled. "Every time I go to Europe or Asia I'm usually exhausted."

"You're young, you shouldn't have such trouble." Russia said with a shake of his head.

"And by age we should both be dead, but here we are." America shot back.

"Touché." Russia laughed.

About an hour later, they pulled into America's driveway, and got out. Russia glanced up at the house as he pulled his suitcase out of the trunk. He was surprised to see that it was a smallish house, not even two stories. Looking around, he also noticed the house wasn't too far away from town, just on the edge, so it would be easy for America to walk into town if he wanted to. "I did not expect your house to be so small." Russia said as they walked up to the front door.

"Well, it is only me." America said as he unlocked the door. "Well, actually it's me and Hero."

"Who?" Russia asked.

"Meow."

Startled a bit, Russia looked down and saw a cat by his feet. The cat, which looked similar to a ragdoll cat, but with brown fur around its neck, looked back at him.

"That's Hero." America chuckled. "He likes everyone." Hero meowed again, and rubbed himself on Russia's leg.

"Hello little kitty." Russia cooed as he rubbed the cat's ears. As he did, he was taken aback on how loud the cat could purr. "Loud little thing, aren't you?"

"You have no idea." America scoffed as he walked inside. "Just wait till breakfast time. That cat has no problem with letting me know when it's time to eat, even if it's the crack of dawn." Russia chuckled at that, thinking of his own cat at home who did the same thing. Walking in behind America, (and with Hero following them both), he shut the door behind him. As Russia looked around the small space, America pointed to the coat rack behind him.

"Just hang your coat up there. Your room is down the hall, and is the second door to the left. My room is the first one on the left. Go unpack your stuff, or go take a nap. I've got a few things to do before dinner, so I'll be in the office." America said as he walked down the hall.

"Thank you." Russia said. After America had gone into the office, Russia walked to the guest room. Opening the door, he looked around the room he would be calling his for the next few days. It was a pleasant room, warm and inviting. Everything was neat and tidy, and the room smelled like lemon wood cleaner. A queen-sized bed sat in the middle of the room, and there was a large window overlooking the garden outside.

"This is very nice." Russia said to himself as he put his suitcase on the edge of the bed. After unpacking his things, Russia decided to take a nap, and a few hours later, he woke up to his head vibrating.

"What the hell?" Russia muttered as he woke up. Suddenly, he realized that something was sitting on his head. Reaching up, he realized that America's cat was the cause of the vibrations. Hero meowed, and started to knead his head.

"America was right, you are friendly." Russia said as he picked up the cat off his head. Hero purred, and jumped off the bed and out of the room. Stretching, Russia got up and went into the kitchen, where he saw America cooking something on the stove. Hearing Russia come in, America turned around and smiled.

"Oh, hey Russia." America said. "Dinner should be ready soon."

"What are we having?" Russia asked as he motioned towards the stove.

"Oh, nothing special. Just a stew." America said as he picked up the lid of the pot.

"What's in it?" Russia asked, glancing at the pot.

"It's just a simple beef and vegetable dish." America said, checking the food. With a smile, America turned off the stove and pointed towards one of the cupboards. "If you wouldn't mind, would you get two dishes from up there?"

"No problem." Russia said. As he grabbed the plates, America set out the rest of the place setting, and started to put the food on the table. After they sat down, America and Russia began to eat.

"This is very good." Russia said in mild surprise.

America chuckled. "I'm glad you like it. This happens to be a favorite recipe of mine."

"Where did you get the recipe?" Russia asked as he took another bite.

"Oh, I've had it for years." America said with a shrug. "I've actually forgotten who taught it to me."

"Do you make it very often?"

"No, it takes too long to make. I'm usually too busy with work to make a home cooked meal these days. In fact, France has been getting on my case about it." America said.

"You don't have any time to cook?" Russia asked in confusion.

"Well, it depends on what you mean by time." America said, taking a sip from his drink. "Most of the day I'm in the office, or I'm on assignment somewhere. Usually it's late by the time I get home, and I'm too hungry or tried to spend time cooking."

"Understandable." Russia nodded. "But all the time?"

"Ok, sometimes I'm just lazy." America admitted. "I don't know, it's just, why spend all that time preparing the food if I'm just going to eat it in less than a minute?"

"Because it's healthier." Russia said.

"Blah, blah, blah." America said, waving his hand carelessly. "Tell me something I haven't heard before." Suddenly perking up, America snapped his fingers. "Hey, I know you don't want to spend the next few days stuck in my house, so did you want to go into town and do something?"

"Such as?" Russia asked.

"Well, we could go to the movies, go out to eat, there is a lake nearby if you want to go check that out." America listed off.

"How close is the lake?"

"It's actually only about two miles away." America said. "Sense it's been so cold lately, the top should be frozen over. If we're lucky, we could go ice skating."

"That would be nice." Russia said as he finished his plate.

"Yeah, the weather forecast said that it's going to be cold tomorrow, so maybe we should try it out." America said, glancing down at Russia's empty plate. "Do you want seconds?"

"No, thank you." Russia declined.

"Ok, well, let me take your plate, and you can go into the sitting room and watch the news if you want." America said cheerfully.

"I'm afraid I might go back to bed if you don't mind." Russia said apologetically. "I'm afraid I'm still tired from the trip."

"No problem, dude." America said as he walked to the sink. "Good night."

"Goodnight, thank you for the meal." Russia said as he left the room. After he got back into his room, he sighed in relief. He and America had had a civil conversation, and they hadn't gotten into a fight. So far so good. Yawning, Russia got ready for bed, hoping that the next day would go just as smoothly.

_LineBreak_

After breakfast the next morning, America and Russia set off into town to see what they could do to amuse themselves. It was a small, quiet town. A number of tiny shops lined the streets, offering a multitude of different products and services, but some of them looked like they had been shut down. The streets were mostly empty, only having the occasional person rush by, hugging their coat close to their body. The town seemed a bit cold and empty, as if it was built for a livelier lifestyle. When Russia looked to the east of the town, he could just make out the lake, which was frozen over. Russia couldn't help thinking how similar this town was to some of the towns in his country.

"I bet you're wondering why the place looks shut down." America said, rubbing his hands together.

"It seems rather quiet." Russia said with a frown.

"Yeah, this is more of a summer attraction spot." America explained. "Most of the people living here make their money in the summer off of tourists. When winter rolls around, they usually shut down their shops until it warms up enough for the tourists to come back."

"Why don't they open up the lake during the winter for ice skating?"

"It's too warm most of the time for the ice to be safe." America shrugged.

"Ah." Russia replied. Glancing around, Russia spotted a small coffee shop. "Why don't we stop in there?" Russia suggested, pointing out the shop.

"Oh, yeah. That sounds good." America agreed.

As they walked into the store, a warm blast of air engulfed Russia, along with the smell of coffee and baked goods. Looking around the shop, it didn't look to be a chain restaurant like he thought, but privately owned. They also were the only ones in there at the moment. As the door shut behind them, a voice came from the small room behind the counter.

"Sorry, I'll be out in a second." A woman called. "Why don't you look over the menu while you wait?"

"We will, thank you." America replied. Turning to Russia, he grinned. "So, what do you want? It's on me."

"You do not need to pay." Russia declined.

"Yeah, but you're a guest in my country. And I know the tipping system better." America smirked, pulling out his wallet. "Just let me have this one."

"If you insist." Russia said, looking up at the display menu. After thinking about it for a moment, Russia chose what he wanted.

"A black coffee with a lemon poppy seed muffin would be fine." Russia said.

"Good choice." America said. "I'm going to pick the slice of cheesecake."

"Sorry for the wait." The cashier said as she came out of the backroom. She was an older woman, around her 70's, who had a warm face. "What did you boy's pick?" After giving their orders, she told them to pick a table and she would bring their orders to them. After paying her, they sat down.

"May I ask you a question?" Russia asked.

"Sure." America said. "What's on your mind?"

"Why did you choose this town for our "vacation" spot?" Russia asked. "I thought you liked more lively places to hang out?"

"For the most time, yeah." America nodded. "But this town has a charm to it. I often find myself drawn to this place during the winter."

"Any particular reason why?" Russia inquired. As America thought about it, the cashier served them their food, which they thanked her for. After she left, America answered.

"It's probably because the town hasn't changed very much from when I was younger." America sighed, staring into his coffee.

"Does this town have a personal tie for you?" Russia asked as he took a bite out of his muffin.

"Not a very strong one, no." America said shaking his head. "But I remember coming here a lot during the 20's."

"How come?"

America smirked as Russia asked the question. "They had some great bootlegged booze around here."

Russia stared at America for a moment, then let out a chuckle. "Really? You came out here for illegal alcohol?"

"Of course I did!" America snorted. "Did you really think I was going to go through the Roaring twenties and the beginning of the Great depression without a drink? Uh, no. Not happening."

"I remember you during the twenties." Russia said sipping his coffee. "You were always throwing parties, and if I remember correctly, that's when you were a little too willing to use a tommy gun during the world meetings."

"Ah, fun times." America said with a nostalgic look. "I never understood why they went out of style."

"They were pretty fun." Russia agreed. "Italy actually was pretty annoyed about the whole thing. Reminded him of the mafia."

"Oh yeah, he was." America said taking a bite of his cheesecake. "Didn't his boss at the time have a huge campaign to get rid of the Mafia in Italy?"

"Da, I believe so." Russia said with a nod. "It was rather brutal if I remember correctly."

"For such a happy go lucky guy, his people sure can be vicious sometimes." America said with a frown. "Not to mention a lot of those mafia guys came running to my place."

"They caused you a lot of trouble, did they not?" Russia asked.

"Just a bit." America said sarcastically. "They did a lot of damage smuggling drugs into the country. God, the 70's and 80's were awful. Heroin addicts all over the place, caused me no end of stress. By the way, do you have the time?"

Russia looked at his watch. "It's around one."

"Ah, well we better get moving if we want to go ice skating." America said, finishing off his cake. They gathered their stuff, said goodbye to the shop keeper, and headed towards the lake. The lake itself was rather large, and most of the top was frozen. A thin layer of snow covered the ice, making the lake look like it had powder sugar on it. America and Russia sat down on the shore, and put on their ice skates. America, who finished putting them on first, walked over to the ice and tested it. When the ice didn't crack under his foot, he pushed himself out a bit.

"Is the ice safe?" Russia asked as he finished tying his skates.

"It seems so." America said, skating further out. Going faster, America started to skate wide loops, looking for weaknesses in the ice. "I think as long as we stick closer to shore we should be fine."

"That's probably a good idea." Russia said as he pushed himself on the ice. After finding his balance, Russia started to make small patterns in the ice. Soon, he was skating literal circles around America.

"Showing off?" America asked in amusement as he watched Russia circle him.

"Showing off? This is nothing." Russia scoffed, skidding to a halt in front of America. " _This_ is showing off." And with that, he started to circle America again, except he was skating backwards.

America smirked. "Is that all you got?"

"Is that a challenge?" Russia said, smirking right back.

"Maybe. Let me show you how it's done." America said as he sped off away from Russia. After he got a fair distance between them, he turned around and sped towards Russia, and at the last second, jumped up and spun three times, and landed perfectly on the ice. As he glided past Russia, he gave him a cheeky grin. "Beat that, ya commie!"

"I intend to." Russia said. Sliding away, Russia put even more distance between them, and then sped back. He then jumped, spun three times, landed perfectly, jumped, spun four times, and landed in front of America. America whistled in amazement. "Not bad."

"I would like to see you top that." Russia taunted playfully.

"Well, I hate to admit it, but I don't think I beat that jump." America said, holding his hands up. "I'm not at that level yet."

"Bow down to the king of ice!" Russia cheered.

"Hold up, who said we were done?" America said. "Let's see who can draw the coolest design in the snow."

"While childish, it sounds fun." Russia chuckled. "Anything particular in mind?"

"Nope, it can be anything you want." America said as he slid to an untouched piece of ice. He first made one large circle, then a medium one, then a small one. He then made a small oval around the smallest circle, and then a rectangle on top of that. Jumping into the middle of the smallest circle, he spun in place, making a small circle, and then another next to that. Jumping below that, he made a triangle, and then a curve under that. Then he made three small circles in the medium circle, and skated out of his design.

"Ta-da!" America said happily. "It's a snowman!"

"I see." Russia chuckled as he looked down at the, surprisingly not badly drawn, snowman. "Very creative."

"You're just jealous you didn't think of it first." America joked.

"I think I have an idea." Russia said, and skated to another patch of untouched ice. He started by making a medium sized circle, and then started to make triangles come out of the sides of it. After over lapping the triangles over themselves several times, he made a long line come from the base of the design, and added one more wavy triangle to it side of the line. Gliding back to America, he smiled.

"I drew a sunflower." Russia said proudly.

"Damn, that's pretty impressive." America said, admiring Russia's handiwork. "Wish I could do that."

"Are you admitting that I am the winner?" Russia smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, you win." America said coolly. "Should have known better than to challenge you on ice."

"Oh, you think the ice is your ally, you merely adopted the ice. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the sun until I was already a man." Russia joked.

"Dude, stop using my movie quotes against me!" America snorted as he burst out laughing.

"Never." Russia said.

"Well, I guess I better make you." America said with a sneaky smile. Grabbing snow off the nearby shore, America threw it at Russia, who was hit in the face. Blinking in surprise, Russia's face broke out into a feral grin.

"Now you have done it America." Russia threatened as he grabbed snow off the shore as well. "This means war."

"Bring it!" I'm going to take you down!" America taunted as he skated away.

For the next few hours, the two of them chased after each other, throwing snowballs with deadly aim. By the time the sun had started to set, the two of them were soaked and cold, but extremely pleased with their battle. Deciding that they had had enough for one day, they returned to the house to get warmed up.

"Oh, the warm air stings." America said as he rubbed his cheeks when he walked into the house.

"Well, we were out there for hours." Russia chuckled. "It is not surprising."

"I'm going to get out of these clothes." America said as he draped his wet jacket on the door hook. "I'd suggest you do the same before you catch a cold."

"Da, that sounds like a good idea." Russia said, walking to his room. After changing into a warm pair of sweatpants and a sweater, Russia walked back into the kitchen, where he saw America setting up the kettle on the stove. America was wearing a pair of sweatpants, and a long-sleeved shirt.

"Are you making tea?" Russia asked as he sat down at the table.

"No way, dude." America scoffed, showing Russia two mugs full of little marshmallows and handing him one. "Everyone knows that you drink a big mug of hot chocolate after you spend time in the snow."

"Of course, what was I thinking?" Russia deadpanned.

Snorting with laughter, America put the hot chocolate mix in the mugs. "Do you want to watch a movie?" America asked.

"Da, what do you have in mind?" Russia asked as Hero jumped up on his lap purring.

"You know, after talking about the mafia earlier today, I'm kind of in the mood to watch the god father." America said. Glancing at Russia, he raised an eyebrow at Hero, who was sitting happily in Russia's lap. Pointing a finger at the cat, America said, "Don't forget who feeds you, cat."

"It's too late, he is mine now." Russia said. "I made him an offer he couldn't refuse."

"Yeah, and what's that?" America asked.

"A warm lap."

"Uh-huh. Once I bring out the electric blanket he'll ditch you like the plague." America snorted.

"Cheater." Russia said, throwing a marshmallow at America.

"Hey, don't waste those!" America yelped, dodging the puffy sweet. "You'll want those in your drink!" As he said this, the kettle let off a whistle, and America poured out the drinks. Taking their drinks, they walked into the living room, and got comfortable on the couch. True to his word, as soon as America brought out the electric blanket, Hero made a B-line for it, curling up on the warmest spot he could find.

"So easily swayed." America said as he pet Hero.

"Too true." Russia said as he scrolled through the movies. Once they found the movie, they sat back and watched it in silence for a while, only making a random comment here and there. About half way through, America yawned.

"Getting tired?" Russia asked, pausing the movie.

"Yeah, I'm pretty worn out." America said, rubbing his eyes. "The cold takes a lot out of me."

"Well, I had better call it a night as well." Russia said, checking his watch. "I have got to get up early to catch my flight."

"To bad you couldn't stay longer." America said. "I was actually having a fun time." Then glaring at Russia, he said, "If you tell anyone I said that I will deny it."

"Only if you don't tell anyone I had a good time here." Russia smirked. "After all, we have to keep up appearances. We cannot get too soft on each other."

"Of course not." America scoffed. "We'd never live it down."

"Never." Russia confirmed as he walked towards his room.

"Goodnight ya commie bastard." America said cheerfully as he waved Russia goodnight.

"Goodnight, capitalist pig." Russia replied sweetly.

_LineBreak_

"So, how did it go?" Russia's boss asked as Russia entered his office.

"It was rather dull." Russia said with a shrug. "The first day I mostly slept off my jet lag, and we had a civil conversation. On the second day, he showed me around town and we spent most of the day at the lake. We had a pretty good chat over coffee."

"Is that all?" Russia's boss asked, narrowing his eye's. "Nothing important you're forgetting?"

"Not at all."

"You didn't have any arguments?"

"No."

"You didn't cause any international problems I'm not aware of?"

"Of course not."

"Nothing of importance?" Russia's boss asked in disbelief.

"Nothing."

Russia's boss watched for any sign of untruthfulness on Russia's face, but didn't find any. Sighing, he nodded his head. "Very well, you may go."

"Thank you, sir." Russia said, and left the room. Then with a smirk, he walked down the corridor muttering, "Nothing of any importance to you at least."

 ** _A/N: YEESSS! I finished this chapter! It took soooo long. *sighs* Sorry if the beginning was a bit slow, but I struggled to get my footing on this chapter. If you want a reason as to why it's so slow, it's because America and Russia are slowly warming up to each other. I was going to give this a sappy ending, but that didn't seem like something Russia and America would do. Please review, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_**


	6. My Enemy

**A/N: WARNING! WARNING! This chapter is not happy go lucky like the rest of these chapters were. This chapter is dealing with heavier subject material, and will be historically accurate as possible. Please be aware that I will be describing injuries in detail, so if this bothers you, please skip over those parts! These moments will be marked at the beginning and end with a * symbol, however, I will be keeping it rather tame. Prepare to have your heart ripped out and thrown out the window.**

America sat silently in front of the desk of his boss. He had his head in his hands, but didn't say anything. Neither did his boss. Both of them were contemplating what they had just done. Nine days ago, America had dropped the first atomic bomb ever to be used in warfare on Japan. To say the results had been devastating would be an understatement. They had just wiped half a city off the map, in a matter of seconds. So many lives snuffed out in a blink of an eye. So many more dying from radiation poisoning. Then they had done it again three days later after Japan refused to surrender. Again, they had wiped part of a city off the face of the planet. And today, Japan had called in the surrender. America was visibly shaking in his chair. What had he done? What _had_ he done?

"America, I am sorry this had to happen." Truman sighed. "But you know I didn't make this choice easily."

America didn't reply.

"America." Truman sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Please be reasonable. We talked about this. This is war."

"I'm not unfamiliar with the concept, _sir._ " America snapped.

"Of course you aren't, I didn't mean to offend." Truman said. Leaning back in his chair, he studied the young man in front of him. He looked sick, upset, and disgusted. Not that he could blame him, but Truman felt that he had made the soundest decision, and wasn't going to apologize for it.

"You know fully well that if we didn't drop those bombs, that we would have had to send more American boys to their deaths." Truman said. "Hell, we probably saved lives on both sides by doing this! Hundreds of thousands of lives!"

"I'm not disagreeing with you on that." America said, finally lifting his head out of his hands, looking straight into Truman's eyes. "But it still feels wrong."

"I know it does." Truman said, looking somber. "Today, it may seem like there could have been another way, a better way, but believe me when I say that there wasn't."

America snorted, and looked away. "Do you know what you've done? You've put the most powerful weapon in the history of mankind into my hands. And after we used it, we've changed how the world sees us. How the hell is the world going to react to this?" America asked, looking back at his boss with determined eyes.

"They will fear us." Truman said. "They will look at us, and see that we are a force to be reckoned with. They will most likely try to replicate what we've done today in the future, making their own atomic weapons so that they can take us on."

"Great, like that's what we need." America huffed. "A rain of atomic weapons falling on our heads."

"For now," Truman said, "Lets focus on the present, and worry about the future later."

"Easy for you to say!" America snapped, standing up suddenly, knocking his chair back on the floor. "You're not the one that has to go into that meeting room in an hour, and look into the eyes of the nation that I just obliterated! You're not the one that had a friend turned enemy, bomb you and then declare war on you! You're not the one everyone is going to back away in fear from, because you're the most powerful man in the world!"

"Easy?" Truman shot back, his face turning red. "Do you think any part of this was easy? You should remember that I'm the one that's in charge, and that whatever happens, good or bad, is on my shoulders as well! Do you think it's easy for me to remember all those boys I sent out, only for them to die? Do you think I enjoy watching family's cry because their boys will never come home? What I did saved lives, and I will never think what I did was unnecessary. Don't forget, that I was the one ordered those bombs to be dropped! Don't think that won't weigh on my mind for the rest of my life!"

For a moment, the two glared at each other, not daring to break eye contact. Then, finally, America looked down, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry sir." He muttered, picking up his chair and sitting back down. "I know it's hard on you as well."

"It's not like I take this lightly." Truman said, giving America an exasperated look. "I'm only asking that you keep it together for the signing of the peace treaty with Japan." Then, looking at America in sympathy, he spoke in a softer tone. "I don't know what it's like to live for centuries. I know that I wouldn't want to live that long. I know that my decision may haunt you for the rest of your life, and for that, I am truly sorry."

America only nodded. Glancing up at the clock, America got up, and stiffly said, "I need to get ready for the meeting."

"Your dismissed." Truman sighed. After America left the room, he thought how lucky he was that he wouldn't live forever.

 **_LineBreak_**

America looked nervously up at the clock on the wall. Japan was late, and that didn't sit well with America. Japan made it a habit to be on time, and was only ever late when something bad had happened. Tapping his fingers, he watched to the door. Finally, he heard a soft knock on the door.

"Enter." America said. As the door opened, America had to physically stop himself for hurling up his lunch. Japan was being helped through the door by a Japanese officer, but it was Japan himself that made America sick. What stuck out the most were his eyes. Oh god, his eyes!* What once was brown was now gold and charred, looking ahead, not seeing. Parts of his face were charred and burned black, with large welts and burns covering much of his hands. It almost looked like scales on a reptile.* America couldn't even begin to imagine the damage under his clothing, if someone had to help him walk. After Japan sat down across the table from America, he dismissed the man and they were left alone. For a moment, neither one of them spoke. America just didn't know what to say. What could he say?

"America." Japan acknowledged America.

"Japan." America said back.

They fell back into silence. They both contemplated what they were going to say. So many hurt feelings, so much anger, so much had happened between them. How does one start the process of healing?

"I will be honest with you." Japan finally said. "I thought it was a bluff. I didn't think you had it in you. I guess I was wrong." As he said this, America winced. "You have created a force that has shaken the world."

"I have." America replied. "It had to be done."

Japan didn't reply right away. "Many of my soldiers refused to surrender. Although we have officially surrendered, there are many who refuse to believe it to be true. Be aware that there will be some resistance."

"Of course." America said. "I would expect no less."

"Where do I sign?" Japan asked. "As you most likely guessed, I cannot see as of this moment."

Sliding the paper towards Japan, America guided Japans hand to the paper, where he signed. As Japan made to get up, America grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"Wait, I-I have to know." America said, his voice cracking with emotion. "How many-?" America asked, not daring to finish the sentence.

"The first bomb killed 70,000–80,000 people from the bomb." Japan said. "The second bomb I'm not as sure, but it is estimated to have killed 22,000 to 75,000 people."

"So many?" America asked in a horrified voice.

"Yes." Japan said.

America felt his heart break. So much damage with just two bombs. And he had used them. He had realized they were powerful, but even so…

"Are you going to be permanently blind?" America asked.

Japan thought for a moment, then shook his head. "My people, yes." Japan said stiffly. "But as for myself, I do not know. I doubt I will remain blind, but I may never be able to see the same."

"I-I see." America said. "I'm sor-"

"Do not apologize!" Japan snapped, making America jump away from the nation in front of him. "You won, this is war. You should not feel sorry for your enemy! You did what you thought would win the war, and you made your plan accordingly. Do not be sorry for your actions!"

"But I am!" America said desperately. "Oh god, I'm so sorry Japan."

"Being sorry won't help you in the long run!" Japan shot back. "Being sorry won't change the outcome. Being ashamed will only hold you back!"

"So what the hell am I supposed to feel?" America said angerly. "Pride? Joy? Satisfaction?"

"I never said that." Japan huffed. "Let me give you a piece of advice. You're still young, so you may not know this, but when you have just done something that will change the world, you don't sob and cry like a child. You hold your head high, and face the world with a confident attitude. If you don't, the world will chew you up and spit you back out without a second thought. People are going to fear you. Most of the people you killed consider you a monster."

America frowned, but didn't say anything as Japan continued. "But you must never let the others see how shaken you are. Never let on how badly it hurts, or how guilty you feel. It will destroy you from the inside out faster than anyone else could." And with that, Japan stood up. "Consider that your only piece advice. Do not insult me again by showing me weakness. Show me that you are an honorable fighter, who takes responsibility for what you have done."

"Of course." America said, standing up. "But I do have one more question."

"And what would that be?" Japan asked.

"Do you think we will ever be able to repair the bonds we have broken?" America asked sadly. Japan blinked in surprise. Then with a sad smile, he shrugged. "As a nation, it may not be likely to happen anytime soon. But as a man," Japan said, grasping America's hand in a firm grip, "I hope we may have a friendship yet." And with that, Japan called in his helper, and he left.

"Am I a monster?" America quietly asked himself as Japan closed the door.

 **_LineBreak_**

As America walked into the world meeting after the end of the war, he heard the meeting room go quiet. All eyes landed on him, studying him closely. Germany, Italy, and Japan were sitting at the far end of the room. Germany was eyeing America suspiciously, and Italy started shaking like a leaf in fear. Japan merely ignored America all together. Russia was studying America closely, with alarming interest. The Nordics looked disgusted, avoiding looking in America's direction. Canada looked conflicted, looking like he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. England just looked alarmed, and distrustful. France just shook his head sadly. China looked furious, glaring at America as he stood protectively by Japan. Glancing around the room, America noticed that almost everyone had a combination of these reactions, and for a moment, he hesitated.

Nothing would ever be the same. People were scared of him now, and unsure how to move on. He had just proved throughout the whole of the world war, not only at the end, that he was a force to be reckoned with, and he had a feeling that it was going to be a long time until people started to warm up to him again. As he thought all of this, he remembered what Japan said, and with a deep breath, and took his seat, ready to face whatever came his way.

 ** _A/N:_** **So, I hope you guys liked this. I based a lot of the reactions off of what people felt during World War 2. America's view was similar to many American's right after it happened, and I based Truman after how he truly felt in real life. I'm not sure if I portrayed Japan right, but I hope I did. If I got the numbers wrong,** **I'm SORRY!** **I tried! I didn't add the after affect with the cancer and such in the death toll, as in the time period that I wrote it in, they wouldn't have known. Don't worry Japan fans, I will make a second chapter for Japan, (and other characters that I already wrote about), that won't be as depressing. So, it snowed by my house! I spent all day yesterday making mini snowman.**


	7. My Friend

"America." Japan said coolly, as he smirked. "I'm afraid I have the upper hand."

"No, hell no!" America said, sweat pouring down his face. "I'm not giving up that easily."

"Just accept your fate." Japan said as he pulled out his weapon. "I'm afraid there can only be one person who can come out on top."

"No, don't you fucking dare!" America yelled. "That's not fair and you know it."

"All is fair in love and war." Japan said with a feral grin. "It's what this weapon was made for."

"If you do this, we can't be friends anymore." America said firmly.

"We'll see." Japan said as he triggered the weapon. As it rushed towards America, he let out a cry of anguish as he tried to dodge it. But unfortunately, he couldn't and he was blasted out of first place, and on the third lap no less.

"Dude! How could you use a blue shell on me!" America wailed as he slumped back on the couch.

"As I said, it was what the weapon was made for." Japan smirked as he took first place in Mario cart.

"Argh, this is like the fifth time you've won!" America said with a pout. "What's your secret? Practice? Designing the game? Super-secret ninja powers?"

"All of the above." Japan said. "Do you want to do rainbow road next?"

"Now I know your messing with me." America snorted as he threw his Wii controller next to him and got up. Stretching, he looked over at Japan, who had paused the game. For someone who didn't display emotion a lot, he sure looked smug.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." America grumbled in good humor as he walked to the kitchen. "Yo, you want something to drink while I'm in here?" He called back.

"If it would not be too much trouble, would you mind getting me a drink of water?" Japan called back.

"Sure, no problem." America said as he grabbed a cup from the cupboard. America hummed as he pulled snacks from fridge as well. America and Japan were having their monthly video game weekend. Although Japan was currently beating America's ass at Mario cart at the moment, America had a secret weapon up his sleeves. A game had come out a few months ago called Cup Head, and he was going to try it out on Japan. (Because he had beat the game, and it was hard as hell to play.) As he brought back the snacks and drinks into the living room, he noticed that Japan was looking at his video game collection for the next game to play.

"Hey Japan, I have a great game already picked out!" America said cheerfully as he put the food down on the coffee table.

"Oh, and what would that be?" Japan asked in interest picking up his drink and taking a sip.

"Hold on, let me pull it up." America said as he started to pull up Steam.

For a minute, Japan watched America, and then glanced out the glass sliding door next to the sofa. He noticed that it was starting to get dark outside. Coming to the conclusion that it was going to rain, he turned back to watch America again.

"Ah-ha, here we go." America said happily as he sat back down on the sofa. Giving Japan a controller, they started playing the game. Japan had to admit, that this game was pretty well done. As America talked about the old cartoon style, and how much he loved it, Japan was having a pretty fun time. (The game reminded him of some of the games he had back home.) Although the bosses were difficult, they found themselves pulled into the game for hours. As a result, they didn't notice the storm raging outside. That was, until there was a large bolt of lightning, and the house rumbled in the aftershock, snapping them out of their concentration. America nearly jumped out of his skin, and turned around to look outside.

"Wow, It's really dark outside." America said in surprise as he glanced out the door. "I didn't hear about a storm on the news this morning."

"Neither did I." Japan said. Putting down the controller, he glanced at his watch. "It's getting late. Shall we rap this up for today?"

"Wow, yeah. I didn't realize how late it got. You can head upstairs." America said as he started to clean up.

"I can help." Japan offered.

"No, I insist." America said with a smile. "You're my guest. Goodnight." America said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

"Goodnight." Japan said, and he went upstairs.

 **_LineBreak_**

A few hours later, Japan woke up to a particularly loud thunder clap outside his window. Groaning in irritation, he glanced over to the clock next to his bed. It was 2am. Great. Sighing, he grabbed his water bottle by his bed and walked into the hall to find the bathroom. After he had got his drink, he walked out of the bathroom, only to nearly trip over Hero, America's cat.

"Hero, you should not trip people. It is rude." Japan grumbled as he looked down at the cat.

Hero ignored him, and walked over to the door in front of the bathroom. He then looked back at Japan like he was waiting for him. Japan only stared at the cat. Hero then began to scratch the door, meowing loudly.

"Shh, you will wake up America!" Japan hissed quietly as he opened the door to keep Hero quiet. As he did so, he heard a small whimper in the room. Freezing, Japan watched as Hero bolted into the room, meowing loudly. Peeking in, he saw America shivering under his covers. Hero jumped up, and started to head butt America. Jumping, America's head came out from under the covers. He was wearing a Captain America T-shirt and sweatpants. Looking at Hero, he frowned.

"How did you get in?" America muttered. Looking at the door, he froze when he saw Japan. Then with a sigh, he addressed him.

"Oh, hi Japan." America said, shifting uncomfortably. "I, uh, didn't see you there."

"I, was looking for the bathroom." Japan said awkwardly.

"Oh, I see." America said, desperately looking anywhere except at Japan.

For a moment, they sat in awkward silence. Then, a huge clap of thunder was heard, and America jumped back under his covers with a panicked yelp. For a moment, Japan studied the shivering mass on the bed, then with a sigh, he walked over to the bed.

"Um, are you afraid of thunder storms?" Japan asked, checking on his friend.

"Would you laugh at me if I said yes?" America asked sadly, not coming out from under the sheets.

Scoffing, Japan sat down on the edge of America's bed. "I would not make fun of you, America. We are friends."

"You wouldn't be the first one too." America said bitterly. "The Allies did during World War 2."

Surprised, Japan looked down at America with a frown. "Why would they do that?"

"They thought it was childish." America snorted. "Like they didn't jump at loud noises. But I guess with all the bombings going on, they had a reason to. But for me, they thought it was ridicules for me to be scared by such a simple thing."

"It is not an uncommon fear." Japan pointed out. Just then, another thunder clap was heard, and America flinched under the covers. Then, Japan frowned as he thought of something.

"You don't act scared during the world meetings where we had storms going on." Japan pointed out.

"Dude, it's called acting." America sighed. "Luckily, I'm actually pretty good at it. I've been able to convince most of the rest of the nations that I'm not afraid anymore, so they don't use it against me anymore."

"Ah." Japan said. America sighed, and came out from under the covers. He looked awful. He looked stressed, and had dark circles under his eyes.

"Did you get any sleep?" Japan asked as he studied his friend.

"I tried." America said with a shrug. "Couldn't get any." He flinched again at the thunder, and then with an aggravated groan, he ran his hands through his hair. Hero meowed, and climbed into his owner's lap, trying to comfort him.

"It's not like I don't know what causes them!" America said angerly. "Hell, I know all the science behind it, I don't understand why they freak me out so much. It's not like ghosts, or snakes, or freaking unicorns!"

"Unicorns?" Japan asked in bewilderment.

"Don't ask, long story." America said with a sigh.

"Have you tried supernatural causes or stories to try and calm you down?" Japan asked. America gave his friend a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" America asked.

"Really, no one ever told you stories about lighting and thunder?" Japan asked in disbelief.

"Well, England never really bothered with that, and the guy who taught me about lighting flew a kite outside during a storm." America snorted. "I've read about a few different legends, but they didn't help."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Japan winced in sympathy as a flash of lighting lit up the room, making America jump.

"Well, how about some silly stories?" Japan suggested.

"Like what?" America asked tiredly, rubbing his face.

"Well, I heard one recently that angels go bowling up in heaven." Japan said with a small smile. "And when the ball hits the alley, that is the lighting, and when they hit the pins, there is thunder."

America chuckled a little bit. "That's a pretty creative theory."

"Why don't you make up a story?" Japan asked. "It may help."

America thought for a while, occasionally jumping at the storm. Finally, he spoke up.

"How about when it rains, it's the angels watering their gardens, and when it there is lighting, it's the roots of the plants growing, and the thunder is the footsteps of the angels moving around?" He suggested.

"I like it." Japan said encouragingly. As he said this, there was a clap of thunder so loud, it shook the house, making America nearly fall off the bed in his panic. After he collected himself, he sighed and shook his head.

"Welp, that didn't help." America said, leaning back against his pillows.

Japan thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "I'll be back in a second." Japan said, and he ran out of the room. Confused, but too tired and stressed out to really ask, America waited for Japan to get back. He heard Japan searching for something, and after a few minutes, he hurried back into the room with a small device and a set of headphones.

"What do you have there?" America asked.

"It's an audio book player." Japan said, handing the device over to America. Looking groggily down at the device, America laughed.

"I've tried something like this." America said shaking his head sadly. "It doesn't work. It doesn't block out the sounds of the storm."

"This will." Japan said confidently. "These are sound proof headphones. They're a new prototype I've been testing out. You can't hear a plane take off with these. And if you listen to something boring, you should get to sleep more easily."

Looking doubtful, America put the headset on, and his eyes widened as all the noise in the room was blocked out. Holy crap, even his best set of headphones didn't block out sound this well. Japan smiled as America looked through the list of books. Taking one earphone off of America's head, he told America that he was going back to bed, and to have a good rest. After America thanked Japan, Japan went back to bed.

 **_LineBreak_**

The next morning, Japan opened up his eyes to see the room was flooded with sunlight. Stretching, he walked out of his room. Remembering what had happened last night, he walked over to America's room to check on him. When he looked in, he smiled. America was fast asleep, looking peaceful with the headset still on, and his cat next to him.

"I should get him a pair." Japan thought as he closed the door.

 ** _A/N:_** **I hope you guys like this one. As promised, here is a more cheerful encounter between Japan and America. I hope I can get some sleep as well. Stupid college, messing up my sleep. I think I'm going to write about Prussia next. As usual, tell me who you want me to write about next. (I will do chapters on characters I've already written about if you want me too.)**


	8. My Drinking Buddy

**_A/N: This chapter is a what I like to call a cozy chapter. It's not filled with action, it's just an everyday scenario. It's quiet, but funny, and hopefully will make you feel like you're wrapped in a warm fuzzy blanket. I want to add that while some of these characters are made up, I did take the inspiration from Hetalia itself. I'm referring to that one panel in the manga that said Prussia was, and I quote, "Someone who could get along with grandpa's really well." Enjoy!_**

America sighed as he walked out of the meeting. As usual, there had been plenty of talking, but not a lot had gotten done. Not to mention when he had gotten up to speak, he had been harshly criticized again. Not that it was uncommon for people to criticize him, but after years of this he started to wonder if people did this just to get on his nerves. (He wouldn't be surprised. Just take England and France for example.) Cranky, irritated, and slightly hungry, America started to scroll through his phone to look for the nearest restaurant, when he felt someone poke him in the back. Jumping, he turned around and to his surprise saw Prussia grinning at him.

"Hey, I couldn't help but notice that your face is looking constipated." Prussia joked. "Can't have you getting a stick up your ass like England."

Snorting, America shook his head. "Like I'd ever become an old geezer like England."

"Let's hope not." Prussia cackled, walking with America down the hall. "Say, want to get a beer with me? It's been awhile sense we got a beer together."

"Only if you're paying." America joked.

"Jeez, you can't afford to buy a beer?" Prussia said in mock horror. "You're in worse shape than I thought!"

"Can't afford to buy me one?" America shot back with a smirk. "You need to shape up old man."

Pretending to look offended, Prussia grabbed the younger nation and held him in a head lock. "Old man?!" Prussia cried. "Don't forget who taught you how to fight you brat!"

"Hey, no need to get violent!" America yelped, struggling to get out of Prussia's hold.

"Say I'm awesome!" Prussia shouted.

"You're awesome!" America laughed, and Prussia let him go with a huff.

"You need to learn how to respect your elders." Prussia said.

"So, does this mean I have to buy my own beer?" America asked with an innocent grin. Prussia punched America in the arm, rolling his eyes.

"Do you even need to ask?" Prussia asked as they exited the building.

"Damn it." America groaned. "Where do you want to go?"

"There's a great little place just down the road." Prussia said as they walked down the street. "It's an old pub that me and West really like."

"Speaking of Germany, is he coming?" America asked.

"Nah, he had to get some work done tonight." Prussia shrugged.

"Shame, I wanted to see him do an American smile." America smirked.

"You're never going to let him live that down, are you?" Prussia asked with a chuckle.

"Nope." America said with a shit eating grin. "So, what were you doing at the world meeting today anyways?"

"Just thought I'd cause a little mayhem, bother a few people, the usual." Prussia said coolly. "I ended up falling asleep halfway through though because it was so boring."

"I wish I could." America said bitterly. "I swear to god, if I have to listen to China talk about pollution one more time I'm going to throw myself out the window."

"As entertaining as that would be, I don't think it would be worth the broken bones." Prussia pointed out as they walked up to a small building. "This is it." Prussia added, opening the door for America. Walking in, America sighed as the heat rolled over him. Looking around, he saw that it was a very small place, with only about five large tables, a set of booths along one of the walls, and a small bar. There weren't many people inside, only about three people, and they were middle aged or older. One of them was sitting by the door, he had white hair that was thinning, and a beard. Two of them at were at the bar. The man on the right was a little pudgy, and a bit on the short side, around his late 70's, but had a kind looking face, and the other man was leaner, had grey hair, looked around early 80's, and a wit to him. Behind the bar was an elder man, around his 80's, who looked up and greeted them with a smile.

"Gilbert, nice to see you again." The man said. "Your brother not joining you tonight?"

"Nah, he's got work." Gilbert replied. Putting his hand on America's shoulder, he smirked. "Had to find a replacement.

"Rude." America snorted.

"Ah, and what's your name young man?" The old man asked, giving America a curious look.

"Alfred sir." America said politely.

"A good strong name." The man nodded. "Oh, how rude of me, my name is Mr. Fischer. It's good to see a young face around here." He said with a nod. "I usually just have a bunch of old farts in here."

"Hey, speak for yourself!" The man sitting closest to the door shouted back. "I'm only seventy!"

"Ah, don't kid yourself, you're a geezer, Karl." Mr. Fischer snorted. Turning back to America with a smirk, he asked, "So, what can I get you kid?"

"What do you got?" America asked with a grin.

"Oh, I like this one." The man on the right said, nodding towards Gilbert, who was smirking.

"He's interesting, that's for sure." Gilbert said.

"I thought we were friends." America snorted.

"Tough love." Gilbert shot back as he led America up to the bar.

"Hey, that kid old enough to drink?" The man on the left joked. "He looks like a baby."

"Yeah, he's old enough." Gilbert said, pushing America in-between the two men and sitting on his right. "I wouldn't bring him if he wasn't old enough." Turning to America, he pointed to the men next to him. "The man on your left is Walter, and the man on your right is Hermann. The man by the door is Karl. And Mr. Fischer already introduced himself. These guys are good drinking buddies of mine."

"Nice to meet you." Walter said, shaking America's hand.

"Nice to meet a friend of Gilberts." Hermann said, giving America a small wave.

"Good to have a fresh face around here!" Karl said, lifting his glass in greeting.

"So, boy, can you hold your liquor?" Mr. Fischer asked, raising an eyebrow at America. "Gilbert has brought a few people around who can't. I remember one bushy browed one that passed out at my bar one time."

"Oh yeah, I remember that." Hermann said with a chuckle. "He was a rather emotional fella."

"Couldn't hold his drink at all." Walter said, shaking his head. "I was embarrassed for him."

"Yeah, Arthur is like that." Gilbert said with a shrug.

"I think I can handle it." America said coolly.

"A challenge then!" Karl said, walking up to the bar with a grin. "We like to have fun here with new people, don't we?" He said winking at Gilbert.

"I feel slightly set up here." Alfred said, giving Gilbert a suspicious look.

"I will neither confirm nor deny anything." Gilbert said, giving Alfred a cheeky grin.

"You want the usual Gilbert?" Mr. Fischer asked Gilbert as he pulled out a glass.

"If you don't mind." Gilbert said.

"And what do you like to drink?" Mr. Fischer asked America, gesturing to the display behind him. "We've got Berliner Weissbier, Dunkelweizen, Hefeweizen, Kölsch, Bock, Doppelbock, Schwarzbier, and so much more."

"Uh…" America said, frowning.

"Don't tell me you don't know your drinks, kid." Walter scoffed.

"I'm not old enough to drink back home!" America defended, looking embarrassed.

"My god, the boy has been neglected!" Hermann said, looking horrified. "It's a crime I tell you, refusing to give a young man alcohol."

"We'll fix that." Karl said, nodding to Mr. Fischer. "One of everything if you don't mind. Gilbert can pay."

"Hey, I never agreed to that!" Gilbert snapped, making everyone around him laugh.

"We can split the bill." Hermann said as Mr. Fischer started to pull out a bunch of glasses.

"Sounds good to me." Karl said as he sat next to Walter. "Let's start the boy off with something easy. Let's start him off with a Berliner Weissbier."

"Ok kid, here's how we'll do it." Walter said. "We'll give you a beer, and you rate it from zero to five. Sound good?"

"Yeah, no problem." America said.

"You don't have to try a full glass, boy." Mr. Fischer said in amusement, putting small shot glasses on the table. "I'll do you fella's a favor and give the boy samples, that way I don't empty your pockets."

"Much appreciated." Gilbert said, toasting the bartender with his glass of bear, before knocking it down.

As Mr. Fischer pulled different bottles out from under the bar, America watched in interest. Although the man was in his 80's, he moved pretty quickly. As he watched Mr. Fischer pour the shots, Walter cleared his throat.

"So, you don't look to be from around here kid." He pointed out. "You American?"

"Uh, yeah." Alfred said, turning to face Walter.

"Where you from?" Walter asked, looking interested.

"Oh, I've lived nearly everywhere. I move around a lot." America said with a grin. "But my earliest memories are from living in Virginia."

"Your family in the army?" Hermann asked curiously.

"Something like that." America said. "I've served in the past, but I do more government work these days."

"That's pretty impressive for someone your age." Karl said in surprise. "And you can't drink? Just how old are you?"

"I'm nineteen." America said with a shrug. "I don't do big government work, I just go to meetings and write stuff down."

"Yeah, I feel sorry for him." Gilbert snorted. "Can't even drink away his stress, but already working for idiots with their heads up their asses."

"Here, here." America said with a smirk.

"Kid, I think you and I are going to get along just fine." Walter said with a laugh, slapping Alfred on the back.

"Alright, here we go." Mr. Fischer said was he placed the shots in a row in front of Alfred. Pointing to the one on the far left, he said, "This one is a Berliner Weissbier. Go on, give it a try."

Raising his eyebrow, America picked up the shot and looked at it. It was a straw-colored drink, with a fizz. As he drank it, he realized that while bitter, it had a hint of sweetness to it. Putting down the glass, he nodded.

"I like it." America said with a grin.

"Thought you would." Mr. Fischer said with a chuckle. "Did you notice the sweetness?"

"Yeah I did." America said with a nod. "What was that?"

"Raspberry syrup." Mr. Fischer said, showing Alfred the bottle.

"That's awesome!" America laughed. "I'll give it a, I don't know, four out of five.

"Good rating." Gilbert said with a nod.

"Come on, give the kid a real drink." Karl said, unimpressed. "This kid needs some hair on his chest."

"Hey!" America protested, making everyone chuckle.

"Ok, give this one a try." Mr. Fischer said with a smirk, pushing the drink on the far right towards America. "This one is called an Eisbock, it has an ABV* of about 10% or 15%. The other drink was only around 3%."

"Now we're talking." Gilbert said with a grin.

"If you choose that one, you better have nothing to do tomorrow." Hermann warned Alfred. "And in my case, I don't. Hey Fischer, could you get me a glass of that?"

"Yeah, sure." Mr. Fischer said, rolling his eyes. As he grabbed a glass, America looked over the drink. It was a dark brown color, and the head wasn't very large. Taking a drink, he noticed that it wasn't very carbonated, had had a smooth feel to it. It was sweet, having a caramel, (possibly chocolate?) flavor, and had a dry taste. Putting down the now emptied glass, he grinned.

"Oh, I liked that one." America said, tapping the empty glass with his finger. "It had an interesting taste. Four and a half out of five."

Hermann nodded in approval. "It sure does. Did you know that beer was supposedly made by accident?"

"Really?" America asked. "That's pretty interesting."

"Ah, don't get him started." Walter groaned. "He'll talk your ear off and then some when it comes to brewing beer."

"It's true!" Karl teased. "Once he starts he never stops."

"No I don't!" Hermann objected.

"Hate to tell you, but you do." Gilbert pointed out with a smirk. "And even if Alfred was interested in what you had to say, it'd probably go right over his head."

"Now that's just hurtful." America said, sticking out his tongue at Gilbert, who mimicked him.

"Alright, no need to bicker like old women." Mr. Fischer said as he picked up the next glass. "This one is called a Schwarzbier. ABV is about 4.8%. Personal favorite of mine."

Looking at the small glass, it looked black, but when Alfred picked it up, he noticed that it had garnet highlights. It had a small hint of brown bread and licorice, and had an earthy smell. As he swallowed the drink, he noted that it had just a hint of hazelnut, and had a soft sweetness. Overall, it was a clean and well-rounded drink.

"Not bad, I could definitely go for another one." America said with a laugh. "Four and a half out of five."

"Alright, get him a glass of that." Gilbert said. "In fact, get one for yourself Mr. Fischer. It's been awhile sense I've hung out with you guys."

"Yeah, old man." Karl said, nodding to Mr. Fischer. "It's not very busy right now. Take a break and come sit down."

"Alright, I don't see any harm." Mr. Fischer shrugged. "But let's move to a table. It'll give us more room."

"Good idea." Walter said. Putting his arm around Alfred, he said, "I want a seat next to this one."

Laughing, Alfred, Gilbert, and the rest of them sat down at the table Karl was sitting at before. Alfred sat between Walter, (who was on his left again), and Prussia. To Prussia's right sat Mr. Fischer. Karl sat on Walter's other side, and Karl sat in front of America. They all held a large glass of beer in front of them, and while Karl, Hermann, and Prussia were drinking theirs rather quickly, Walter, Mr. Fischer, and America nursed theirs.

"So, how do you know Gilbert?" Alfred inquired the group as he sipped his drink.

"He came in here with his brother, what, five, six years ago?" Mr. Fischer recalled with a frown. "I can't really recall when."

"It's been about six years." Gilbert clarified.

"That long ago?" Walter asked in surprise. "Geez, where does time go?"

"I know. Anyways," Mr. Fischer said with a wave of hand, "This one here," he said pointing at Prussia, "and his brother come walking in. Well, I notice them right away, because as I said, all of my customers are usually older."

"I'm young at heart." Hermann huffed.

Ignoring him, Mr. Fischer continued. "I'm expecting them to be loud and rowdy, and drink like crazy like most men their age, but to my surprise they were well behaved and polite to me. And not to be rude young man, but teenagers usually are rather annoying when they drink."

"No offence taken." America laughed. "I'm inclined to agree with you."

"So, they just keep coming back, and eventually I start striking up conversations with them. Because they come in around six o'clock, they start seeing the same group of people." Mr. Fischer said, nodding towards the other men.

"That's right, Gilbert is a social butterfly." Karl chuckled. "He and his brother started to sit with me when I was around. In fact, he did that to all of us."

"After a while, all of just started to sit together." Walter said. "We usually hang out about twice a week."

"That sounds nice." America said.

"I still don't know why he wanted to hang out with a bunch of geezers like us." Mr. Fischer mused. "We're not very exciting."

"That's not true!" Gilbert denied, looking amused. "Old people are awesome! They have all the interesting stories and wise advice."

"I don't know about wise." Hermann said with a grin. "Usually we just tell people not to do stupid stuff that we did when we were young."

"Yeah." Karl said. Looking at Alfred, he smirked. "The more stupid things you do, the wiser you become."

"That's awful advice, don't tell him that!" Walter said angerly. "Kid, don't listen to him. He's still an idiot."

"I can't deny that." Karl said with a shrug, making the table roar with laughter.

"So, Alfred, may I call you Alfred?" Mr. Fischer asked.

"Sure, I don't mind." Alfred said warmly, grabbing a few chips off the table, (which Mr. Fischer had brought out), and munching on them.

"So, Alfred, what do you think of old people?" Mr. Fischer asked.

"I respect old people." America said. "They're walking history books. They don't usually put up with people's crap, and are usually blunt. I can respect that."

"Gilbert, where have you been hiding this boy?" Hermann said angerly. Then turning to America, he grinned. "Can I adopt you?"

"I have no problem with that." America laughed, and Hermann smirked.

"Hear that, this one's mine!" Hermann cheered.

"So, why are you here in Germany, Alfred?" Karl asked.

"Oh, I had a meeting to go to." Alfred said with a shrug. "It was pretty boring. And I got criticized pretty bad during my presentation."

"What, how come?" Mr. Fischer asked with a frown.

"I'm, um, not the best public speaker." America said with a shrug. "And my ideas aren't always the best. And a lot of my co-workers don't like me."

"That sounds awful." Walter said.

"Eh, you get used to it." America said with a shrug.

"How bad are these ideas?" Karl asked.

"I once suggested we use a superhero to solve global warming." America said casually, sipping his drink. The table went silent, and the group of men stared at Alfred in disbelief. Noticing this, Alfred blushed. "I only did it once!"

"That's pretty fucking bad." Karl said, the others nodding in agreement.

"How did you get your job?" Hermann asked. "Not to be rude, but you don't seem like the kind of person who would do well in politics."

"I just kind of got it." America sighed. "I mean, Gilbert helped me out with some parts, but to be honest I've sort have been winging it."

"It's true." Gilbert sighed. "Watching this guy try to suggest ideas is like watching a train wreck. You just can't look away."

"Thank you, Gilbert," America said sarcastically, "for your vote of confidence."

"No problem." Gilbert said, knocking back his glass.

"So, does this happen every time or…?" Mr. Fischer asked.

"No, god no." Alfred said, shaking his head. "That rarely happens. Most of the time, even with good ideas, most of my coworkers just like to argue for the sake of arguing."

"That sounds exhausting." Walter said.

"You have no idea." America deadpanned. "Usually we don't make much progress in our meetings, and end up arguing about old topics."

"Yep, that sounds like politics." Karl said.

"Hey, let's get off get off politics." Mr. Fischer suggested, noticing the mood dimming. "How long are you staying in Germany?"

"Uh, a few more days." Alfred said. "I'm staying a few more days to go sightseeing." Looking down at his watch, America sighed. "Hey, I have to go I have some work to get done before tomorrow." America said, finishing his drink. "How much do I owe you?" He asked Mr. Fischer. Mr. Fischer just shook his head and waved Alfred away.

"Don't bother, it's on the house." He said with a small smile. "You've been an interesting guest. You should come back again tomorrow. I'll have a few more drinks for you to try." Then with a smirk, he said, "But you will have to pay next time."

"No problem." America laughed, shaking the men's hands. "It was good to meet you all."

"Hey, don't be a stranger." Karl said.

"Good to meet you." Walter nodded.

"Next time you're in Germany, stop by." Hermann said. "I'll give you that history lesson."

"I look forwards to it." America said. After saying goodbye to Gilbert, he walked out back into the street. Looking forwards to tomorrow night, he walked back to his hotel, leaving the pub in a far better mood than when he had arrived.

 ** _A/N:_ I hope that these chapters aren't too boring. I know they're kind of slow. If I didn't describe the beers right, sorry, I'm too young to drink. I based this chapter off of what I thought it would be like to hang out at a pub. (In fact, I based it off of a German pub in my town that my parents like to go to with their friends.) Tell me what you thought! Thanks for reading!**


	9. My Archaeology Buddy

America scanned the people in the room around him. Friends, enemy's, neutral parties. All of them talking, laughing, fighting. He briefly wondered just how much history they had all seen between them. A room full of ancient relics and modern history all in one room. It would be a historian's heaven if they ever got a chance to talk to any one of them. Especially China. That dude had been around forever. But alas, all they ever did was bicker with one another. America briefly recalled a joke about having all the technology in world and using it to throw birds at green pigs. It seemed appropriate.

Looking back up at the ceiling, he sighed. He didn't get the older nations obsession with the past sometimes. And not in the sense of studying the past, (Because that could be fun), but arguing about it. True, America hadn't lived nearly as long as some of the others, and in some ways, he was nothing more than a child. But America found much more comfort in seeking out the future than he ever did remembering the past. The past, and there was no other way to say this, sucked. Sure, it had victorious battles, epic tales, and great accomplishments but it also had hurt, failure, broken bonds, broken dreams. And that wasn't very pleasant thing to think about. However, America did realize the importance of history, and how to learn from it. It was important to learn from the past if you wanted to look to the future. Learn from your mistakes and all that shit.

As America pondered this, he didn't realize that he was being watched by someone. Nor did he notice the figure approaching him or sit down next to him. It was only when Greece spoke that America came out of his musings.

"What are you thinking about?" Greece asked him, making America jump in surprise. Looking over at Greece, he just smiled.

"Just thinking." America said with a shrug.

"Hmm." Greece hummed. "Do you do that a lot?"

"What kind of question is that?" America chuckled.

"I mean no offense." Greece assured. "I'm just curious."

"Sure, I think a lot." America said with a shrug.

"What do you think about?" Greece asked again.

"A whole lot of strange things." America said with a grin. "Like how between us all we should have most of the knowledge of the world in this room, yet all we do is bicker like old women."

"I see." Greece said with a nod. "That is a curious observation."

"Eh, not really." America said with a shrug. "It's just something that's been on my mind."

"I have thought the same thing at times." Greece said with a yawn. "It almost seems wasteful."

"Hmm." America hummed in agreement.

"I think it's just in our nature to argue." Greece said with a shrug. Glancing at America, he gave him a knowing look. "Trust me on this. I've seen these guys fight for centuries. I think it's actually good that we argue."

"What makes you say that?" America asked with a confused frown. "Sure, I might argue with some of the other nations, but I don't enjoy it per say."

"It's good for us to let off a little steam every now and then." Greece said, nodding slowly. "If we don't, we'll end up getting into serious arguments and war breaks out."

America thought back to the world wars, and huffed. "Yeah, I see what you mean."

"I wonder if you do." Greece said, giving America a doubtful look.

"I mean, I sort of get it." America said, giving Greece a smile. "If nothing else, I understand the underlying causes for all that."

"I thought you couldn't read the atmosphere?" Greece asked with a frown.

"Oh, I can." America said with a smirk. "I just choose not to read it. It helps me ignore things that don't concern me."

"I see. So you choose to be oblivious." Greece said, giving America a thoughtful look. "Curious."

"I'm not exactly stupid." America sighed, rolling his eyes. "Everyone seems to forget that. I didn't get this far in the world by not knowing anything. And I didn't beat Russia at the cold war without a brain in my head."

"I never thought you were stupid, just immature." Greece said. As America opened his mouth to argue, Greece held up a finger to shush the younger nation. "That isn't necessarily a bad thing. If anything, it's to be expected seeing how young you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" America asked, puffing out his cheeks. It did nothing to help with the childish look he had.

Sighing, Greece thought for a moment. Then he looked over at America. "You know, you grew up pretty fast for a nation."

"Huh?" America asked, looking surprised. Then he shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. England always goes on about that when he gets drunk. And Canada complained about it when we were younger because I got too busy to hang out with him."

"It's quite unusual for nations to grow up so fast." Greece pointed out. "You were fortunate to grow up where you did, with so little standing in-between you and your growth."

"I mean, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows." America muttered, glancing at Mexico, who was hanging out with the Latin American countries. "But I guess it wasn't the worst thing either."

"You move to fast in my opinion." Greece said with a yawn. Then he frowned. "Or maybe I'm just getting old."

"No comment." America said with a chuckle.

"There's nothing wrong with relaxing every once and a while." Greece said.

"Yeah, but I can't afford to slow down!" America pointed out, swirling a pen in his fingers. "Every other day there seems to be a new problem. 'America, your boss is an idiot! America, you owe me money! America, I need you to help me! Blah, blah, blah.' Jeez, I miss isolation."

"I also have problems, but I find that a good nap can help in many situations." Greece said as a cat jumped on his lap. As he pet the cat behind the ears, America just stared at the cat in disbelief.

'Dude, how are these cats getting in here?' America wondered, looking around the room to see if a window was open or something. Finding nothing, America turned his attention back to Greece.

"Don't get me wrong, I love naps. But all the same, I don't have the time to take one." America grumbled. Then with a frown he added, "Or time to have a nice home cooked meal." Then he smiled, pulling a candy bar out of his coat. "But that's what these bad boys are for!"

"It's not heathy to always be in a rush." Greece said.

"It's not healthy to take naps all day." America countered.

"Hmm, I guess that's a fair point." Greece chuckled. "What do you like to do for fun, America?"

America stopped twirling his pen, and grinned. "I like to play sports, make movies, going on adventures, and archaeology!" Then deflating a bit, he added, "But it's been a long time since I've had time to do any of that stuff."

At the word archaeology, Greece looked up. "I didn't know you liked archaeology."

"Dude, archaeology is awesome!" America said happily, bouncing up and down in his chair. Greece was reminded of a small child getting excited over sweets. "It's like an adventure, because you get to find all sorts of cool stuff, and make new discovers, and you travel a lot, and you learn all sorts of cool stuff!" America said in one breath. Greece was mildly impressed.

"I never thought of it like that before." Greece admitted as another cat climbed on top of his head. "I find so much old stuff at my place, it's not that big of a deal for me anymore."

"Dude, that sucks." America said. "Back at my place, there's not a lot of 'old' stuff like old civilizations. Well, maybe in South America, but North America doesn't have anything on the same scale as that. But we do have fossils! Like dinosaurs! God, I love dinosaurs! I remember finding my first dinosaur. I think it was a T-rex. Those are my favorite! Although I don't like it when I find old human bones, because one that's creepy as hell, and two, what if their ghost is hanging around! That's super fucking scary!"

As America continued to explain his love of archaeology, Greece couldn't help be feel slightly amused. He had lost his passion for it a while ago, but it was nice to see a younger nation take interest in it. And it had been a while since he had seen America so passionate about something.

Greece studied the nation in front of him. He looked like a little kid. He was grinning like crazy, his eyes were sparkling, and he was still bouncing up and down. Greece actually felt like laughing with him. America seemed to have that effect on people. (Well, he did when he wasn't annoying the hell out of people.)

"Hey, are you even listening?" America huffed. America crossed his arms, and started to pout. God, was Greece getting old, or was America just acting even more like a kid?

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I spaced out for a moment." Greece said with an apologetic smile. "It happens you know."

"With you, I'm not even surprised." America sighed.

"Hey, you like archaeology?" Greece asked.

"Dude, just how long have you been spaced out?" America asked in amazement. "I just said I did."

"Hmm." Greece replied. "Then the next time I find something cool, why don't you come over, and we'll uncover it together?"

America's jaw dropped. For a moment, he just gaped at Greece in disbelief, then his face split into one of the biggest grins Greece had ever seen. Then America pulled Greece into a bone crushing hug. The cat that had been on Greece's lap jumped away, but the one on his head clung on for dear life. Greece felt all of the air in his lungs leave his body.

"THANK YOU!" America shouted happily.

"You're very welcome!" Greece gasped, frantically patting America's arms. "Can't breath, can't breath!"

"Oh, jeez I'm sorry." America said in alarm, putting Greece back down. "I get over excited."

"Yes, I see." Greece said, taking the cat off of his head. The cat hissed, and ran off to god knows where.

"Are you alright?" America asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Greece said with a nod.

"Ok." America said. "If you say so."

Just then, Germany cleared his throat. "The meeting is about to start. Please go to your assigned seats. Have your papers ready and your speech's prepared." After he finished, Germany walked back to his seat.

"It was cool talking to you!" America said to Greece, grinning widely. "Call me up once you find something. See ya!" And with that, the American got up and hurried over to his seat. Now that Greece thought about it, why was America not sitting in his seat?

"That was very nice of you." Japan said, sitting in the seat America had vacated. "I'm surprised."

"I can be nice." Greece said.

"But with America? I would have thought he would have been to energetic for you." Japan asked.

"The same could be said with you." Greece countered.

"I know him. You barley interact with him." Japan pointed out.

"Well, he looked like he was thinking about something." Greece said. "I'm always interested to hear anything interesting. It seems he was having some interesting thoughts."

"Hmm. I'm glad you cheered him up." Japan said with a small smile. "He's been stressed out due to work."

"I told him to take a nap." Greece said, watching Italy play with the cat that had been on his lap earlier.

"Of course you would." Japan sighed.

"ITALY, WHERE DID YOU GET THAT CAT?" Germany yelled.

 _ **A/N:**_ **So, I don't know Greece all that well, but I hope I got everyone's personality right. I think that if Greece and America did interact, they would bond over archaeology. I don't know, it was just something that popped into my head. Tell me if you liked it, and who you want to see next. Have a great day.**


	10. My Pen Pal

America hummed as he unlocked his front door and walked into his house. He had just gotten off work, and with the slight chill in the air, he was looking forwards to grabbing something to eat and sitting under a blanket for the rest of the evening. As he shut the door behind him, Hero came running up to him meowing happily. As Hero weaved himself around America's legs purring loudly, America hung his jacket on the hook next to the door. Then he crouched down to scratch Hero's ears with a smile.

"Hey buddy, did you miss me?" he cooed. Hero meowed happily, jumping into America's arm and headbutting America under the chin. "You're friendly today." America chuckled as he stood up. Still carrying Hero, he walked into the kitchen and placed Hero next to his food bowl. As he walked over to the cupboard to get Hero his dinner, he heard a small ding from his laptop, which had been sitting on the table. Curious, America glanced over at it to see a small message had popped up. He quickly fed Hero and walked over to the computer and was delighted to see that it was his pen pal. A few years ago, he had typed a random number into his phone and had sent a message, which to his surprise someone replied to. It turned out that the person on the other end was as bored as him, so they had started talking. They had gotten along so well, that they set up a chat room, so they could talk to each other. Even so, they had never told each other their real names or where they lived.

" **Dynasty: Hey, you free to talk?"** America read. Sitting down at the table, he started to type.

" **Eagle2: Yeah, I just got home. What's up?"** He replied. A minute later he got another message.

" **Dynasty: Nothing of interest. I've been home all day. Has anything interesting happened to you today?"**

Scoffing, America shook his head. **"Eagle2: You need to go out more. Every time we talk you say you've been sitting at home all day. You need a hobby dude. And no, nothing much has happened."** Suddenly, America's stomach growled, and with a sigh America stood up and made his way to the fridge. Opening it, he was disappointed with what he saw. He hadn't gone food shopping for some time, so he was down to just a gallon of milk, a few vegetables, and something he didn't think was food anymore. He thought that it had once been yogurt or something but is now looked like a green blob. America was pretty sure if he ate that he would die, personification or not. As he pulled out the gallon of milk, the computer dinged. Glancing at the screen, he was amused by the response his pen pal sent him.

" **Dynasty: How dare you. Staying at home is a hobby. It takes dedication and knowing how to avoid people. It is an art form, and you shouldn't criticize me. You young people have no respect for your elders!"**

Grabbing a bowl and a box of cereal, America walked back to the table and made himself his dinner. As he started to eat, he typed back, **"Eagle2: Whatever old man. Btw, I think I created life in my fridge."**

America had decided that the guy he had been typing had to be an old man. The guy barely left his house, often complained about young people, often talked about what he saw on T.V., and for some reason had a soft spot for kids. He also talked a lot about his rather large family, although he had mentioned that they weren't his blood relatives but adopted. He liked to complain about them too. America didn't understand why the guy had taken to him, but America kind of felt sorry for the guy. The guy must feel lonely, seeing as his family didn't live with him. America pictured him as a tiny old dude who sat on his porch all day in a rocking chair drinking tea.

" **Dynasty: Again? You need to clean out your fridge more often or you're going to kill yourself."** America read after a minute. Then another message popped up a second later. **"let me guess, you're out of food again?"**

America huffed. **"Eagle2: It's not like I mean to forget to pick up food, I just get busy."**

Dynasty didn't reply for a minute, then they typed, **"Dynasty: You're such a dumb ass sometimes, you know that right? I swear, if I didn't tell you to not to eat expired food or to actually eat a vegetable every once in a while, you'd have died years ago. And let me guess, you're eating cereal for dinner again."**

Hero jumped onto America's lap and meowed. Absently mindedly, America started to pet him which made Hero purr loudly. **"Eagle2: Yeah, I am. What, are you stalking me or something?"**

" **Dynasty: I don't need to stalk you to know you're eating that sugary crap. And don't tell me it's not sugary crap, I know what you like. I don't know how you haven't died of type 2 diabetes yet."**

America frowned. He had a feeling he had heard that somewhere before. Shrugging it off, he replied, **"Eagle2: Maybe I'm invincible."**

Hero meowed again and started pawing at America's hoodies ties. America grabbed the other end of the string and started dragging it around the top of the table for Hero to chase. Hero's tail twitched, then he jumped on the table and started chasing the string. America did this for about ten minutes when he noticed that Dynasty hadn't replied yet. Confused, he stopped playing with Hero and typed a message on the chat.

" **Eagle2: Hey, you still there?"**

After another minute, Dynasty replied. To America's surprise, the message was rather long.

" **Dynasty: Eagle2, I don't know how old you are, but guessing from your behaviors and from what you've told me, I'm guessing that you're a young adult. I know you probably said that you're invincible as a joke of some sort, but I just want to give you some advice that I hope you take to heart. And take this from someone who has lived for a long time, no one is invincible. I've met so many people in my life who have claimed that nothing and no one can hurt them, only for them to get hurt badly. And that was mostly from them being over confident or carless.**

 **You are young now, so you may be a bit carless with your health but let me tell you, it's not something you should take lightly. If you aren't careful now, then you're only going to hurt yourself in the future. You work yourself too hard, (I know you do, you're always telling me how much work you have to do), you don't have a healthy diet, and you don't sleep enough. Basically, you're killing yourself, even if you think you aren't. You need to start taking care of yourself, or your body is going to give out on you someday.**

 **Not to mention that you should be spending more time with your family. For all of the time you've talked to me, you've barely mentioned your family. It's important to keep your family close to you."**

America stared at the screen in surprise for a moment, then chuckled. Man, this guy sounded like he knew he was talking about. He was actually kind of touched that the guy was concerned about him. It kind of felt like he was talking to a grandparent or something.

" **Eagle2: Thanks for the advice. I'll make sure to follow it."** America typed back. **"And as for family, I sort of have a close bond with them. I mean, me and my twin brother are super close, but sometimes I wonder about the others. My older brother practically disowned me at one point, and I'm not sure about the other brother, as he's closer to my twin than me. Plus, they're busy with their own lives, so they can't come over often."**

Hero meowed and hopped onto the floor. As he raced out of the room, Dynasty messaged back.

" **Dynasty: Don't you have parents?"** America felt a small pang in his chest as he read the message. It wasn't like personifications had parents. The closest person he could have called a father was England, and that hadn't ended so well for him. And any other father or mother figure in his life he had outlived.

" **Eagle2: No. My older brother raised me."** America typed.

" **Dynasty: Oh, I'm sorry."** Dynasty typed after a minute. **"I hope I didn't bring up a sore subject."**

" **Eagle2: It's fine."** America typed with a sigh.

" **Dynasty: Do you ever get lonely?"** Dynasty asked.

America thought about it for a minute, then he typed, **"Eagle2: Sometimes. I miss my twin brother a lot, and I wish we could spend more time together. It's stupid, because he has his own life to live, but I want him to be around me more like when we were kids. And for as much as I fight with my older brother, I still care about him. I just wish we could talk we used to, before our relationship fell apart. My other brother and I do have a good relationship, but he's often too busy to come over. I'm often on my own a lot, and my friends are often busy, and they live far away."**

America sighed as he leaned back into his chair. He didn't know why he was telling a stranger this. After all, he hadn't even told any of his friends this. Another message popped up.

" **Dynasty: Have you ever told your family this?"**

Scoffing, America typed, **"Eagle2: Hell no. I'm not going to bother them with something like that. They have enough on their plate as it is without me being all clingy."**

Hero walked back in the room with something in his mouth. Walking over to America, he hopped into his owner's lap and dropped the item into his lap. It was a rubber mouse America had given him a few days before.

"What are you up too?" America asked with a laugh as he rubbed Hero's ears. Taking the mouse, he dangled it above Hero's face, making the cat bat at it. The computer dinged again.

" **Dynasty: I don't think they'll think you're clingy. You should tell them you want to see the more. My advice is to do so before it's too late. Don't waste your life just because you think you're bothering your family. They'd probably be delighted to hear that you want to spend more time with them. After all, family love is unconditional. And as for your rocky relationship with your older brother, I don't know what happened between you two and I'm not going to ask because it's not my business but don't ignore how you really feel with him. The longer you keep your real feeling to yourself the longer the two of you are going to misunderstand each other. Trust me on this, there is nothing worse than wanting to fix a relationship and never doing it."**

America considered the words in front of him, still dangling the mouse in front of Hero. What Dynasty was saying was true. It would be a waste if he didn't tell them. At the same time, he really didn't even know how to tell them how he felt. He'd figure it out, but it was starting to get late and he was ready to get some sleep. Putting the mouse on the table, he typed, **"Eagle2: I'll give it some thought, but it's starting to get late, and I'm ready to get some sleep. Plus, my cat is demanding a lot of attention tonight. I can't understand why he's so cuddly all of a sudden. He even brought me his squeaky mouse."**

Hero suddenly meowed loudly and started to try claw up America's chest. "OW, Hero, stop that! Put your nails back in!" America yelped, grabbing Hero and pulling him away from him. Hero squirmed, and then jumping off out of America's grip he jumped onto the table. With a softer mew, Hero grabbed the mouse and dropped it on America's lap again.

" **Dynasty: Sounds like he's trying to feed you. XD"** Dynasty typed back. **"Even he knows your useless at feeding yourself. I think I read somewhere that cats not only bring mouse to their owners a present, but they think they're such bad hunters that they need to teach them how to eat. Congratulations, even your cat thinks you're a dumbass."**

America scoffed in disbelief. " **Eagle2: Yeah right. I feed this cat, if anyone is the useless hunter its him. Anyways, I'm going to log off for tonight. I need sleep. Talk to you tomorrow."**

" **Dynasty: Night."** America closed the laptop, and picking up Hero who was purring he made his way out of the kitchen. "You don't think I'm a dumbass, do you?" He cooed as he pet Hero. Hero meowed in response.

 _ **Meanwhile**_

"That kid is such a dumbass." China sighed as he logged off the chat. "I swear, if he doesn't start eating right I'm going to track him down and force feed him some actual food."


	11. My Pen Pal (part 2)

The next day China walked out of the meeting with a loud yawn. Sometimes he wondered if anyone cared about these meetings. No ever tried to pay attention anymore. Most of the time the younger nations didn't even try to hide their boredom, many of them doing other things while people talked. And for some reason, America had tried to jump out the window when he had started his presentation about pollution. It had taken Prussia, Russia, and Germany to drag the seemingly crazy American back to his seat. America had kept screaming that he couldn't take it anymore and started yelling at the nations dragging him that they were keeping him from his freedom. However, only Prussia seemed to get what America was talking about and had told the younger nation it wasn't worth the broken bones. They had to duct tape America into his seat for the rest of the meeting in order keep him from making another dash for freedom. While amusing, it had caused the rest of the meeting to go into an uproar, and they hadn't got anything done again.

Sighing, China made his way towards the coffee machine. As he walked over, he saw America arguing with England, Canada, and France in front of the machine. Curious, he couldn't help but over hear what they were talking about as he grabbed a cup and chose his coffee.

"Good grief! Just what do you think you were doing?" England asked angerly, whacking America upside the head with his hand. "Were you trying to kill yourself?!"

"No, I'm too awesome to die!" America snapped, holding his head and glaring at England. "I just didn't want to sit through _ANOTHER_ freaking presentation on global warming. If I had a dollar for every time we had a meeting on it I could pay off my national debt!"

"Al, it's an important topic." Canada sighed, shaking his head at his brother's behavior. "You shouldn't be so willing to ignore it."

"Not to mention we are on the 15th floor!" France said in disbelief. "Just how did you expect to survive a fall like that?"

"I'd figure something out." America huffed. England hit him upside the head again, making America yelp.

"YOU BLOODY IDIOT! Will you please use your last two remaining brain cells to think for once!" England yelled irritably.

"Maybe I'd have more if you stopped hitting me over the fucking head!" America snapped back.

"Now, now, let's not get into one of your fights." France said, holding up his hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Al, please start thinking about your actions for once. One day you're going to get yourself hurt by not thinking things out." Canada scolded.

America huffed angerly, and with a roll of his eyes he muttered, "What are you, my mother?"

"Well I raised your ungrateful ass, so maybe you should listen to me from time to time!" England said with a sniff.

America stiffened for a second, as well as the others. Then America threw a glare at England and stormed off.

"Now you've done it." France sighed as he watched the younger nation walk away. "I thought you weren't going to try to make him mad today?"

"It seems I've failed in that endeavor." England sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"You could have tried harder." Canada pointed out with a huff. "You know Al doesn't like it when you bring up the past."

"Now how are we going to invite him out to dinner?" France said with a pout. "I've spent the last three days warming him up to the idea to go out as a family with you, and he finally agreed to it yesterday after talking with that pen pal of his and you go and ruin the whole thing!"

At the mention of pen pal, China spit out his drink. Coughing loudly, he turned around and stared at the nations behind him. "Pen pal?" He asked before he could stop himself.

"Yes, a pen pal." France sighed, turning to address China with a frown. "For some reason he chats with someone he's never met online. He says it's an old man that crabs about everything and anything and has an obsession with tea. He also says that the guy gives good advice."

China had to stop himself from dropping his cup in shock. Could America possibly be…it would make sense. The username Eagle2, the immature behavior, the lack of self-preservation, the lack of taste buds, and he was pretty sure America had a cat. He should have seen it before. Not to mention the twin brother, and older brother who disowned him.

"Um, are you ok?" Canada asked worriedly. "You don't look so good."

"You've gone positively white!" England said in mild concern. "Do you need to sit down?"

"No, no thank you." China said, walking away. "See you later." China rushed out of the room with his head spinning. Out of all the people on the planet, it had been America. What were the odds? Sitting down on a chair outside of an empty meeting room, China pondered the new information. America and he didn't usually get along face to face. Hell, they always seemed to head butt over things, including today during the meeting. But for some reason they had gotten along well online. It just didn't make sense.

Taking a deep breath, China considered his options. He should tell America the truth. He deserved to know who he was considering China had figured out who he was. It wouldn't be fair to him if he kept it to himself. Pulling out his phone, he was about to message America when he heard a smashing sound from the empty room behind him. Jumping, China peeked his head around the door to see America with his fist through the table in the room. He looked extremely upset and angry.

"Shit, shit, SHIT!" America shouted into the angry room. Pulling his now bleeding hand out of the table, he sat down in a nearby chair and sat in angry silence for a minute. Then to China's surprise, the younger nation sighed, and seemed to drop slightly as he looked at his hand with a sad look.

"Damn, I have splinters." He muttered as he started to remove them. China backed away from the door. That idiot. How dare he keep making dumb decisions when he had told him countless times to stop being a dumbass. Young people were so frustrating. With a huff, he threw the doors open and stormed into the room with a determined look.

"You dumbass, what did you have to go and split your hand open for?" China tusked as he walked up to America. America jumped, and looked up at China in surprise. "No wonder your cat has to feed you if this is how you act." China said as he grabbed America's hand and looked over it.

America's mouth feel open in shock as China gave him an amused look. "No fucking way." America said as he stared at China in disbelief.

"Yes, indeed." China said with a slight smirk as let go of America's arm and walked to the other side of the room where a first aid kit was.

"You're Dynasty?" America asked, still reeling from the news.

"Of course. After the Qin Dynasty." China explained as he pulled out a pair of tweezers and Band-Aids. "I assume your username has something to do with your government."

"How long have you known?!" America asked, giving China a defeated look. China sighed and sitting in front of America he took his hand again and started pulling out the splinters. "I just found out today. France was yelling at England about how he had ruined their dinner plans and he mentioned you had a pen pal. I kind of put two and two together after that.

"Of course, he would do something like that." America sighed.

"So, I'm an old man who complains about everything and anything huh?" China asked, raising an eyebrow at America. America chuckled at that.

"It's true. I swear, who complains about clouds?"

"They were getting in the way of my sunbathing!" China defended.

"News flash! Old man yells at cloud!" America said with a laugh.

"Stop moving." China chided. "And I guess I was right when I guessed you were a young adult that couldn't feed himself if his life depended on it."

"And I was right when I imaged a small old man with grey hair who sits on his porch all day sipping a cup of tea." America said with a snort.

China threw the box of Band-Aids at America's head. "HOW DARE YOU! I don't have a single grey hair on my head!" China said angerly.

"I don't hear you defending yourself on the old man part." America said with a smirk.

"And you didn't defend yourself when I called you a dumbass." China shot back as he picked the Band-Aids off the floor. Pulling a couple out, he continued. "So, it seems we know who each other is now. So, you're going to take me to your house and I'm going to force feed you actual food before you die from malnutrition."

"Hold up, who said you're going to my house?" America said with a frown.

"Me." China said as he put the last band aid on. Grabbing America by the ear, he dragged him out of the room, with America yelping in pain.

"You old geezer, let me go!" America shouted.

"No, you need to learn how to respect your elders." China said as he dragged the squirming nation out of the room and towards the exit. "And I'm going to make sure you're not living in a toxic waste land, and that you have edible food. I've been wanting to do this for so long. I swear, if you weren't a personification you'd probably be dead by now."

England heard a shouting of voices, and glancing around, he was shocked to see China dragging a shouting America by the ear with a smug look. America's arm was also covered in bandages much to his alarm. As they walked out of the building, England wondered if someone had put something in his coffee.

 **_LineBreak_**

About an hour later, America sat at his kitchen counter holding his now throbbing ear with a glower on his face as China rummaged through his cupboards. He had no idea how he had gotten to this point in his life, and at this point, he was too afraid to ask.

"Crap, crap, Diabetes inducing crap…" China muttered as he threw stuff into the garbage.

"Hey, you are not throwing out my gummy bears!" America shouted, snatching them out of the trash.

"Nope, you are eating healthy." China said, snatching the gummy bears back and opening the package, he dumped them directly into the trash.

"WHY?!" America wailed, slamming his head down on the table.

"Because you're going to die if I don't intervene." China said, walking over to the fridge and opening it. A horrible smell came out of the fridge making China gag. "What do you have in this fridge? A dead body?"

"Bad yogurt." America muttered.

"How have you lived up to this point?" China asked as he grabbed the offending container and throwing into the trash.

"I'm not a complete idiot." America said with a huff. Just then, Hero walked into the room. Spotting his owner, he hopped onto the counter and sat on top of his head purring loudly. America sighed.

"Are you ganging up on my too?" He asked the cat. Hero only purred loudly and started to knead.

"Even your vegetables are rotting." China said with an unimpressed look.

"Look, I don't always have time to sit down and make a home cooked meal." America said, pushing Hero off his head.

"All I hear excuses." China shot back. After he had emptied the fridge, he pulled out the groceries he had brought with him and started to put them into the fridge. "There, now you actually have something you can eat. Now, there is something I need to talk to you about." China said, sitting in front of America with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah?" America asked looking unimpressed.

"Why did you storm away from England, France, and Canada today?" China asked.

America eyes suddenly turned sharp and he let out a humorless laugh. "I didn't storm away from France and Canada, only England."

"From what I saw, you walked out on all of them." China said coolly, walking over to the tea kettle. Pulling out a box of green tea, he started to pull down a teacup.

America didn't respond, but he shifted a bit guiltily in his seat refusing to look the older nation in the eyes. "Yeah, so what? It's none of your business."

Sighing, China turned around to face America. "You dumbass. Don't act like you didn't just tell me last night that you did care for them and wanted to spend time with them. Like it or not, you're still Eagle2 and I'm still Dynasty. So why don't you act like it? Now, what made you storm away from them?"

America didn't respond for a minute, then with a sigh he looked at China with a mildly annoyed look. "It's England, ok? England and his stupid comments."

"How so?" China asked, pouring the water into his cup.

"I don't know, he always treats me like a kid!" America snapped. "Like I haven't become the world superpower, like I haven't become my own country, like I'm still his colony!" Sighing, America leaned back into his chair. "It's just annoying. Then he insults me all the time and calls me an idiot, and never acknowledges my accomplishments."

"You don't always act like you've done all those things you know." China pointed out.

"Yeah, so what? That doesn't mean I haven't done them." America argued.

"What about today? You almost threw yourself out a window. That isn't very responsible. If anything, you acted like-"

"A dumbass? Yeah, I know." America interrupted. "But to be fair, I've wanted to do that for a while now. Please stop talking about pollution at every meeting."

"No, it is an important issue." China huffed.

"But we've talked about it so many times." America whined.

"And I will continue to talk about it till it gets through your thick skull." China said, taking his cup and sitting back down at the table. "I thought you wanted to have a better relationship with England?"

"I do." America grumbled, grabbing Hero and holding him like a baby and started to pet him. Hero, unfazed by this action, just purred. "But he makes it so hard, you know? Like, every time I try to talk to him he says something that just pisses me off." After a second, he added, "Or I do something stupid or say something stupid which makes him mad at me. In fact," America said with a sad laugh, "The last time I actually talked to him directly besides today is when I got into that car crash with Canada. And I was high on painkillers, so I don't even know what I was talking about with him."

"Hmm." China hummed as he sipped his tea thoughtfully. "Why don't you just tell him how you feel?"

"No way!" America said. "Do you know how awkward that would be? Hi England, I miss you as my brother and want you see me as the super power I am and want you to stop insulting me to my face every time we talk. Yeah, what a fun conversation." America said sarcastically.

"Unfortunately, sometimes being direct with someone is the only way to solve the issue." China said.

"Great." America grumbled. There was silence for a moment, broken only by Hero's purring.

"Why don't you go to dinner tonight?" China suggested.

"What's the point?" America asked. "It's only going to be uncomfortable with me and him there."

"Then take someone else with you." China suggested again.

"I mean, Canada and France are already going to be there." America pointed out.

"Ok, so what's the problem?" China asked. "You have people there that will be able to break up the tension.

"Yeah right." America scoffed. "If anything, they'll make it worse by walking on egg shells between us. It's just going to be awkward. It's better if I just stay home till things blow over."

Sighing, China picked up a newspaper and rolled it up into a tube. Then he wacked America over the head.

"Ow!" America shouted, making Hero jump out of his arms in alarm. "What the hell was that for?! Why is everyone hitting me today? What is this, beat up the American day?"

"Because you're an idiot." China said with a glare. "Waiting for the problem to go away is just going to make it worse. Man up and go to dinner. Even if you don't tell England how you really feel tonight it will at least show him that you're willing to talk, which will be the first step in patching up your relationship."

America blinked in surprise. "That's actually not a bad idea." America said.

"OF COURSE IT'S NOT A BAD IDEA!" China yelled, beating America over the head again. "I AM THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLDER THAN YOU, YOU DUMBASS! GIVE ME SOME CREDIT!"

"OW, GET OFF ME OLD MAN!" America shouted, blocking the furious blows of the newspaper. "HELP, THIS IS ABUSE!"

"STOP. ACTING. LIKE. SUCH. A. DUMBASS!" China yelled with each smack.

"THEN STOP ACTING LIKE AN OLD GREY-HAIRED GEEZER!" America shouted back.

Just then, there was a cough in the doorway. Looking around, they were both surprised to see Canada in the doorway looking very confused. Behind him was France and England looking equally confused.

"Uh, hello?" America said, turning red in embarrassment. "Wait, hold the fuck up, why and how are you in my house?!" America asked.

"You left the key under the doormat." Canada sighed. "I told you not to do that. And we heard shouting, so we came in to check in on you."

"We came to see if you still want to go to dinner." France said, glaring at England. England merely glared back.

"Uh, sure." America said. "Let me just get ready." Then with a glance at China, he walked out of the room.

"So, care to explain why you were beating my brother with a newspaper roll?" Canada asked China. China just smirked and walked towards the front door. "Because your brother is a dumbass." Then with a smirk at their confused faces, he walked out of the house. As he got into his car, he felt his phone buzz. Looking at it, he saw a message from America.

" **Eagle2: Thanks for the advice and food. You're not so bad for an old geezer. Talk to you later."**

China smirked, and wrote back, **"Dynasty: You're not so bad for a whippersnapper. Night."**

 _ **A/N: Here's the follow up to the last chapter because you guys wanted it. China spreading his wisdom and food down to the next generation by beating the crap out of them and calling them stupid. Yep, sounds about right. ;) (Just kidding, don't throw rotten food at me!) As usual, tell me what you thought, and who you want America to interact with next.**_


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